Shake the Heavens
by Fusion Cowboy Chaos Inc
Summary: An unexpected event occurs durring the attack of the fourteenth angel. The fallout collides with ancient history as a new player steps onto the scene. EvaXeno gears and saga cross.
1. End of an Era

Prologue - End of an Era  
  
_Death_, Misato Katsuragi mused, _comes in two forms_.  
  
There was death of one type, and she found that one annoying. It was uncertain death. The sensation of putting ones head into the lion's maw and wondering if it was _this_ instance that it would choose to bite was somewhat akin to the feeling that ran down her spine every time she exited a room that contained Gendo Ikari. Every time she wondered if that would be the time he put a bullet in her back.  
  
And he would, one day, she was sure, and she was also sure that he would do it with less compunction than running his sink's disposal.  
  
The other kind of death, the type she far preferred, even under these circumstances, was certain death. Quick, clean, and efficient were preferable, but even if that was not meant to be, the knowledge that it would be this instance and no other that she felt it's kiss was comforting in its own twisted fashion.  
  
Misato clutched the cross at her throat and looked calmly up at the fourteenth angel, Zeruel, as it poised itself to slice her, and just about everything else around her, in half.  
  
But, as certain as it may have seemed, death did not choose to claim Misato this day.  
  
A rumbling sound to her right distracted it, and a purple fist smashed through the wall, slamming into the angel's weakened AT Field, sending it sprawling back.  
  
The rest of Evangelion Unit 01 tore through the wall shortly after that, giving the angel time to reorient itself. As the Eva come barreling though, Zeruel shot out a bladed 'arm', but Shinji miraculously batted it aside.  
  
Shinji's other hand swept in with the prog knife, but the angel skimmed back, only to come crashing in while he was off balance, sending him back to the ground. Shinji raised the knife to defend himself, but the knife was cut off - as well as half of the left arm. Misato swore, trying to blank out Shinji's scream of pain on the monitor.  
  
"Cut the nerve endings for that piece of the arm, NOW!"  
  
Her command was swiftly heeded even as the third child bit through the pain and got back to his feet. Zeruel was waiting. The razor edged arms blurred out again, but this time somehow managed to miss. Shinji dove in with his remaining arm, aiming right for the angel's core.  
  
It was not to be.  
  
The angel simply skimmed back again, attempting to cut off the other arm at the shoulder as Shinji overextended. A second swift command from Misato cut the pain from Shinji, but while the arm was still halfway attached, it was simply dead weight.  
  
That was when things got worse.  
  
Makoto swore and yelled at Misato. "Major! It's almost got enough for another blast!"  
  
Misato hit the comm. button to the 01. "Shinji, get out of there, it's almost ready to fire!"  
  
Shinji's eyes widened on the screen. He'd seen what that blast could do on his way in. He started moving away, and was almost too late. In an attempt to keep it's prey in place, Zeruel shot out a razor tentacle, slicing off the right leg at the knee. As it was, Shinji's half attempted escape maneuver vaporized the dead left arm and the leg below, doing massive damage to the torso, and exposing the now damaged core, before continuing up and blowing a hole in the outer wall out the geofront.  
  
Zeruel slung one bladed arm down through 01's neck to stop most of the thrashing, and poised the other to finish the job. Shinji slipped into blissful unconsciousness.  
  
But, this too, was not meant to be.  
  
The angel's victory was stolen from it in the form of something else. It was kneed out of the way, then was batted back by a pair of wings.  
  
The new player was mostly humanoid in appearance, vaguely female in it's shape. Clearly mechanical, it's long legs came up to a relatively short torso and head. While it possessed shoulder guards, it had no arms to speak of, and the wings were mounted on a small platform on the back of its head.  
  
It turned to face the downed angel as it stared to right itself, floating protectively in front of what remained of 01. Misato gaped for a moment in shock, then corrected herself. She turned to the others in the room. "What the hell is that thing, and where did it come from?"  
  
Shigeru, serious for once, gave her what his instruments read. "It's mechanical major. There's a small life sign for a pilot, but that's it. Its engine output is incredible though… it's not quite the S2 that the angels have, but it's damn close. As for where it came from…"  
  
Maya interrupted. "It just flew in through the hole the angel made, major."  
  
Misato nodded, glancing back over her shoulder at Gendo, who just stared on impassively. She shuddered a bit, wondering how he could just sit there, then refocused her attention. "Okay, while that thing has the angel occupied, I want a small team down there to extract Shinji. We are not loosing a pilot, you hear me?"  
  
They nodded.  
  
Zeruel and the new machine had not been sitting idly by. Zeruel opened by flinging it's razored tentacles at the new machine, but it slipped past at a speed only theoretically possible for Evangelions. It countered by flying around the side of the angel and slapping it with its wings and occasionally kicking it in various places.  
  
The angel came around, not being more than annoyed by the wing hits, really, and launched its arms again. This time the winged machine simply blocked, throwing the wings in front of its body to protect it.  
  
They made an impressive clang as they bounced off, but were otherwise ineffective. The winged machine darted in again, and this time slammed both wings into both sides of it, stunning it, so that it would have an unobstructed kick at the core. This was blocked at the last second by the angel's armor, and it backed off.  
  
As it did so however, Zeruel snaked its arms in, taking on the torso this time, causing deep cuts to appear. The winged figure backed off a bit more and glowed green momentarily, the brightest patches coming from the gashes. Which started to regenerate.  
  
When the light cut, the machine stood there like it hadn't been touched.  
  
On the ground behind them, a tech crew was just extracting the unconscious and bleeding Shinji from the entry plug. The machine's head turned a little to notice this, then seemed to give off an aura of anger.  
  
Up in the command room, Shigeru swore. "Major! That thing's energy signature just changed into one of the strongest blue patterns I've ever seen!"  
  
Misato snapped her head around to look out at the two battlers just sitting there. "Tell that crew to get the hell out of there with Shinji! NOW!"  
  
They complied, as they watched in horror as what seemed to be two angels confronted each other.  
  
The winged machine (angel?) seemed to activate an external speaker then. "Want you know before I destroy. I ANGRY!"  
  
The winged machine lit up with sky blue energy then, and flew faster than they'd seen so far, right at the angel, dodging between the arms as they came out. It slammed two kicks into the angel's chest, then spun rapidly in place so that its wings buffeted Zeruel with incredible force. It backed off a bit then, and used the blue energy to send blue shockwaves into the fourteenth angel, knocking it back a bit, before a horizontal shockwave knocked it onto its back. Then, the aura darkened, deepening into pitch black.  
  
Makoto swore. "The energy is _still_ intensifying."  
  
It picked up Zeruel then, and the black energy collected around the thing, shrinking the original angel until it was no larger than a large car. Then the winged thing gave Zeruel a soft toss straight up and backed up a bit.  
  
And slammed a wing into it hard when it came back down to the right height, slamming it into one of the still remaining walls to the geofront. As it landed the black aura dissipated, rendering it back to its full size.  
  
This time it was Maya who gulped. "Good news, the crew has Shinji back in the complex. Bad news, our winged companion out there could probably tear into the complex with almost no effort."  
  
An orange glow appeared in the center of the blackness and expanded as the angel attempted once more to rise. Then, the wings detached from the head of the greenish machine, and curled until they resembled fists.  
  
And began pummeling Zeruel into submission. The last hit was an uppercut, knocking the battered angel back to the ground as the wings flew back and reattached.  
  
The winged one had one thing to say as it hovered over the heaving chest region of Zeruel:  
  
"Die."  
  
And then it dropped with incredible force, the tips of its feet crushing the angel's core.  
  
Shigeru sighed in relief as that happened. "The other one's levels are shifting back out of the blue pattern, Major. I think we might be safe for a bit."  
  
Misato nodded, looking out at the winged machine, which slowly lifted itself out of the angel's body, before winging off the way it came in.

* * *

Shinji Ikari awoke to the familiar sight of the hospital ceiling. He said something to commemorate the occasion.  
  
"I know this ceiling…"  
  
Looking quietly over at his side, Shinji did not see any of the usual faces sitting next to his bed. In fact, the only other person in the room was an armed guard, standing at ease near the foot of the bed.  
  
Noting he was awake, the man addressed him. "Third Child, you are hereby directed to accompany me. I am ordered to shoot you if you resist. Is that clear?"  
  
Shinji nodded slowly, and started getting up out of the bed. He wobbled for a moment when he stood and had to brace himself against the wall. Noticing that he was still in a hospital gown, Shinji politely asked if he could change. The answer surprised him, but not by much.  
  
"No. You are directed to accompany me to the Commander's Office immediately upon awakening. Follow."  
  
Realizing that he would get nothing out of the hidebound officer, Shinji followed quietly. The floor was freezing to his bare feet, and the rest of him wasn't much better in that gown. He followed the guard through several empty hallways until they stopped at an elevator leading down. The door opened, and they stepped inside. Shinji leaned against the far wall and contemplated his fate. _What does father want with me this time? For that matter, what happened to me? I should have been mincemeat after I blacked out…_  
  
No answers came and the elevator soon came to a halt. Stepping from the lift, Shinji once more followed the guard through suspiciously empty hallways until they came to a large set of doors. The guard stepped to one side, and stood ramrod straight next to the wall. The blast doors opened, and revealed another set behind them that opened just moments after. Shinji stepped through, to meet his father.  
  
The doors shut behind him far faster than they opened, sealing him inside.  
  
Gendo watched Shinji stand there, a little cold, a little frightened, and mostly confused. He let his mouth sneer behind his hands, but the rest remained impassive. The boy was useless, he could see that now. He should never have bothered to call him in the first place. Some idiot off the streets would have been a better choice. Though he'd arranged for Shinji to have been specifically brought up to have no spine, he couldn't help but hold that against him as well. Even though he wanted to rail out against Shinji, and berate for everything he'd done, for ruining years of effort in a single lapse of ability, he kept his voice impassive as he spoke.  
  
"Third Child, do you understand why you have been brought here?"  
  
Shinji shook his head and looked down. "No, father."  
  
Gendo moved his left hand down to touch a button on the desk, the most movement he'd allowed Shinji to see at this meeting, before replacing it. A video clip of his loss against the angel, and its subsequent defeat by the newcomer began to play behind Gendo, and above Shinji's head, so that both could see without moving. "Do you understand now, Third Child?"  
  
Shinji shook his head again. He'd been defeated in battle. It wasn't the first time. "No, father."  
  
Gendo reached with the exact same motion and touched the exact same button before returning his hand once more to its previous position, making Shinji wonder for half a moment if there wasn't a robot there in place of his father.  
  
The screen changed, this time to a limited time frame, on an image enhanced zoom, replaying the moment that Zeruel's cannon blew through 01's side, focused entirely on the damaged core. Gendo spoke again. "That, Third Child, is the core. The vital point. With it, the rest of the Evangelion may be rebuilt over time. Damaged as it is, Evangelion 01 has been forever destroyed."  
  
Shinji's mouth dried up. _01 gone?_  
  
Gendo continued unimpeded, however. "As such, compared with your previous record of failure, insubordination, and lack of control, most notably in the battle where your incompetence cost the Fourth Child his life, you are hereby dishonorably discharged from service with NERV, knowing that your lack of effort may have doomed all humanity.  
  
"As Captain Katsuragi and the Second Child often come into contact with classified information, you are directed on pain of execution to obtain other quarters within two days time.  
  
"Dismissed."

* * *

Asuka Langley-Soryu smiled triumphantly as the front door opened and closed quietly, as if the person doing it were desperately afraid of attracting attention.  
  
Shinji's trademark.  
  
Shooting the equally relieved Misato an I-told-you-so look, they both walked over to the front door. Then they collapsed back from the reeking air. Misato was the first to recover while Asuka started cursing in German. "Shinji… what the _hell_ is that… that…"  
  
Misato couldn't find a word. Shinji was wearing rags out of a dumpster, and there were an absolutely amazing amount of flies folling behind him.  
  
Shinji didn't even try to reply, something new with him. He simply walked into the bathroom and shut the door. They heard the shower running a few moments later.  
  
Misato and Asuka looked at each other. _What was that about?_  
  
Later, when Shinji had cleaned himself, dressed in his own clothing, removed the odorous clothing and taken it out to a dumpster, Misato tried again. "What happened earlier? They didn't even call to tell us you were getting out of the hospital…"  
  
Shinji, sitting across from the two, shrugged, sliding back into old patterns. "I no longer work for NERV. The wouldn't even let me keep the hospital gown I had on when I woke up. I was forced to scavenge through a dumpster or two so that I didn't end up streaking the whole way."  
  
Asuka was flabbergasted, and ordinarily Shinji would have been amused to see her like that. "For what?!"  
  
"Failing."  
  
She shook her head. "That's ridiculous. None of us managed to stand up to this one. What the hell is he thinking?"  
  
Shinji shrugged. "Perhaps, but I was the only one who's core was destroyed."  
  
Asuka, actually understanding what that meant, wilted a little. "But still… he doesn't even want you to stick around as a back up or something?"  
  
Shinji shook his head. "No… and I have to move out tomorrow-"  
  
Misato growled. "That's stupid. You let me talk to him. We'll see what-"  
  
"Or I'm dead." Shinji finished.  
  
There wasn't a lot either woman could say to that. Shinji rose then. "On that note… I should start looking for a place."  
  
Misato nodded. "Alright… let us grab our coats-"  
  
Shinji shook his head and interrupted. "No."  
  
"Now listen-"  
  
Shinji shook his head again, this time at Asuka. "No… I need some time to myself. I'll be back tonight."  
  
And Shinji walked out the door.  
  
"Dummy…"  
  
Misato just smiled sadly at Asuka, and draped a sisterly arm over her shoulder.

* * *

Several hours of wondering just how it had come to this and absolutely no luck with vacancies later, Shinji stopped off somewhere else, and knocked on the door. A boy with glasses answered a moment later. He brightened. "Shinji? When'd they let you out?"  
  
There was a sudden shouting behind Kensuke, and he stepped outside, muttering a bit. "Sorry about that."  
  
Shinji smiled, his first all day. "It's okay. I just got out this morning. Unfortunately, I didn't just get out of the hospital. I got kicked out of NERV, too."  
  
Kensuke's eyes widened. "Oh man… that sucks…"  
  
"And I have to be out of Misato's by tomorrow or they kill me."  
  
Kensuke's jaw dropped. "Wow…"  
  
Shinji nodded. "So I was wondering if maybe…"  
  
Kensuke grimaced and opened the door a little, letting the sounds flow through, yelling and screaming, crashing noises followed by more yelling. "You sure you want a part of that? I've been wanting out for a few years now… not that I think my parents would let you in anyways."  
  
Shinji looked at his friend with some concern. "You okay, Kensuke?"  
  
Kensuke shook his head. "No, I'm alright, they just constantly scream at each other all the time."  
  
"And that the reason you've always wanted into NERV so bad? So you could move out?"  
  
Kensuke grinned. "_One_ of them."  
  
Shinji shook his head, then sighed. "Well, I think I'd best get back to Misato's before she comes looking for me." Shinji looked at Kensuke strangely for a moment, then smiled. "See ya."  
  
"Yeah," Kensuke was a little distracted studying Shinji's face for the meaning of his words and expression. "See ya."  
  
Kensuke stood there a moment, watching Shinji walk down the hallway, then nodded to himself. Then, he cringed momentarily as he opened the door and entered his noisy apartment.  
  
Tokyo-3 woke the next morning to find both Shinji and Kensuke, last two of the three stooges, gone.

* * *

Neverwhere: Chaos Mode - Well, I don't have too much to say, other than the standard disclaimer junk. Don't own it blah, blah, blah.  
  
Well, I would like to say that this is being co-authored with Classic Cowboy, with massive input from FusionBlaster. And I don't know if anybody cares, but I'm not 'new' to this collaboration here, I've been around since the second chapter of Reborn Angel. I write the delightful little quotes at the tops of the chapters.  
  
Oh, and Kudos to anyone who knows what the cross is already. Out.  



	2. Four Weeks

Chapter 1 - Four Weeks 

"I do not understand."

Asuka snorted, and ignored Hikari as she tried to hold her back. "Don't give me that crap Wondergirl! I'm sure Gendo told you what happened to Shinji yesterday. Now, I'll repeat the question. WHAT THE HELL DID THAT ASSHOLE DO TO SHINJI?!"

Rei stared emotionlessly into Asuka's heaving red face. It was lunchtime in the class, but with the heavy screaming going on, you'd still expect the teacher to intervene.

Too bad he was cowering under his desk.

His day had started simply enough. It was like any other day. Ms. Ayanami had shown up early and started staring out the window like always. That was fine. Business as usual. Time had passed and people had started pouring in. That was fine too. He noted that Mr. Ikari was still out sick from his piloting duties, something not unexpected. Mr. Aida had been absent as well, and while this raised his eyebrow at yet another absence, he figured the lad was attempting to check up on Shinji, like the two had on Touji, before, well, his passing.

Then came the first sign of trouble. Ms. Langley-Sohryu had come to class twenty minutes late. He had decided _not_ to question her on her absence just by the look on her face. He kept giving her nervous glances during the morning, as her anger seemed to only increase, and she shot angry glares over to Ms. Ayanami and to Mr. Aida's empty chair.

He kept glancing nervously between her and the clock as lunch approached. The moment the bell rang, Asuka shot from her seat, and he dove under his desk, preparing for the worst. And he got it.

"WHAT THE HELL DID GENDO DO TO SHINJI LAST NIGHT, FIRST CHILD?!"

That got the ball rolling. Had he dared peek over the top of his desk, he would have seen the entire class except Ms. Hokari riveted to their seats in fear that if they called any sort of attention to themselves, her wrath would fall on _them_.

No one wanted that. Lunch wasn't worth it.

That brought the time to the present. Rei's face darkened slightly at Asuka's term for Gendo, but she did nothing, only stared impassively. As the silence held for several seconds, Asuka's face suddenly grew agast. "He… he didn't…"

The class continued to stare, unable to do anything but watch as Asuka's mind melted into a shiny puddle. She started mumbling to herself as she shook off Hikari's grip and turned away from Rei. "I'll bet he did. It's exactly the kind of thing that bastard would pull. He did, didn't he?!"

She whirled back around then, to confront Rei. "I'll bet the bastard did! Shinji had to be out of Misato's today or Gendo said he'd kill him!" The entire class, including the teacher and Rei blinked. "It's exactly the kind of thing he'd pull!" Asuka was in full rant mode now, not stopping for anything. "He had some section two jackass sneak in and kill Shinji last night at twelve-o-one a.m., didn't he? No… that can't be… He'd never let that kind of thing leak by sending our security to do it."

Asuka was pacing now, but the silence of the classroom as they worriedly tracked her every movement made her every mumble audible. "No, he couldn't trust anybody with that, but he wouldn't do it himself either… unless…" Asuka gave Rei a sidelong look as she muttered this. "He got his puppet to do it for him… Yes, the ever-obedient little doll." She went back to Rei, and started yelling again. "You did it, didn't you? You seduced that poor vulnerable boy, dragged him out of the apartment, and MURDERED HIM, DIDN'T YOU?! DIE WONDER-BITCH!"

That was when Asuka leapt at Rei and began strangling her.

It took three section two agents to pry her off, and it was four weeks before she was allowed back for active duty.

* * *

Misato Katsuragi arrived at NERV in a state of disarray more pronounced than usual - even after one of her all night drinking binges. She was angry, tired and confused, and it was all grating on her as she stormed through the halls. 

She and Asuka awoke that morning to an absent Shinji.

No note, no farewell jotted down on a pad, no nothing. She and Asuka had scoured the apartment, and several of Shinji's favorite places nearby for a few hours that morning, and turned up nothing. He was simply gone. Eventually she had sent Asuka to school, and continued on to NERV, to question Gendo.

No less than five guards scattered out of her path as she strode down the hallways, and she entered the room where the commander and sub-commander were speaking hushed tones conspiratorially.

Fuyutsuki was in her way, so she shoved him to the side with a barely audible 'sorry', not that she meant it. Gendo gazed at her impassively as she stormed in. "What the hell is going on Gendo?!"

The man stared coldly back. "The third child proved unreliable, so I had him removed."

Misato glared at him. That wasn't going to cut it and they both knew it. "I thought he had until the end of today, Gendo."

Gendo glanced down at his paperwork, looking for all the world as if he had much better things to do with his time. It was just to get under her skin, Misato knew. "He does."

"Then where the hell is he, Gendo?"

Gendo grunted, and attempted to wave Fuyutsuki back over, but Misato grabbed his hand. He turned towards her. "I have no idea where he is Major. Perhaps he's hiding under a rock like the sniveling coward he is."

He wrenched his hand out of hers and again motioned for Fuyutsuki. Before the older man could approach, however, she whipped her side-arm from its holster. Cocked the hammer, and placed at a point that settled between Gendo's eyes as her turned to regard her. "GOD DAMN IT GENDO! WHERE THE HELL IS HE?!"

Gendo stared at her, and Misato sighed and slowly replaced the hammer before placing the pistol back at her side. Gendo grunted. "Major, I truly have no idea where the brat is, nor do I in any way care. Now if you will excuse us…"

Misato spun on her heal and barreled out the door. She flipped off Ritsuko as the other woman passed her in the hallway just because of her blind obedience to Gendo before going home for a moment, to decide where else she should search for Shinji.

Asuka arrived ten minutes after she did, and they resumed their search.

Misato called in sick for the four weeks it took Asuka to get over the debacle with Rei.

* * *

Hikari Hokari walked home quietly, her body on autopilot, her mind elsewhere. 

All her life, Hikari had tried to be strong. Not quite like Asuka, who wanted to be the best, but to be strong, to be there for others.

And she was failing.

First, her hopefully-maybe-one-day boyfriend of someday had died, the Evangelion he was starting up going berserk. He didn't die in the fight, for which Hikari was at first thankful.

But he had died just after she visited, not six hours later. She hadn't noticed it then, but she did now, thinking back on it. Touji had known he wasn't going to make it. He was saying goodbye in their last conversation, but she hadn't seen it. He'd made himself hold on just long enough to say goodbye to her, and then he'd passed on.

It made her feel a little sick. Who was she to deserve that kind of thing? What made her special enough to receive that last goodbye before he passed on. The weight of it was starting to eat at her, until early that very morning she had momentarily wished he had died in the entry plug, and that made her sick - in the literal fashion - with guilt.

But now Shinji and Kensuke missing, possibly dead, so soon after the fact, Touji's best friends…

She couldn't help but feel she'd failed everyone and everything in a spectacular fashion.

Hikari collapsed into an alleyway, curled into a fetal position, and began to sob quietly.

"Don't cry, chu…"

Hikari blinked some of the tears away at the soft voice. She looked up to see… something.

The 'something' was short an furry, most of the fur being a bright pink in color, with a white belly region. Wearing a red headband and a sash over one shoulder, the little, almost ewok-ish, creature smiled down at her and gently wiped away some of her tears with a velvet soft paw. "That's better, chu!"

Hikari couldn't help it. She smiled at the thing, who smiled even more brightly back. Hikari gently gathered the smaller creature up in her arms and pulled it into her lap after getting into a sitting position. If the thing minded, it didn't let her know. "I'm Chu-Chu. Who are chu?"

Deciding that this was a dream, Hikari also decided to answer the question.

"I'm Hikari…"

"What's wrong, chu?"

Hikari spilled the whole story to funny little thing she had deduced as female by the voice, and by the end was bawling again, soaking the little thing's fur.

It reached up with a soft little hand and caressed her cheek. "It's not your fault, chu. They'd want chu to be happy. I'm sure that no one blames chu."

"But, but…"

"No buts, chu! Chu-chu has seen many things. This is not your fault, chu! Chu have to keep going. Chu have to be happy for them."

Hikari smiled a bit and wiped her eyes. She gently lifted Chu-Chu off her lap and stood. She looked down at the waist high little creature. "Thank you for your words. Is there anything I can do to repay you?"

Chu-Chu scuffed her feet against the pavement a bit. "Can I come with chu? Chu-Chu doesn't have anywhere to stay…"

Hikari smiled. "Of course you can! But… can you pretend to be a stuffed animal for a bit? People might not understand if you just walked around by yourself."

Chu-Chu nodded. "I can do that, chu. I've had lots of practice playing doll, chu!"

Hikari smiled. "Good. Then it's settled."

She picked up her new friend and walked home, feeling much better about herself.

* * *

Rei sat quietly in Dr. Ritsuko's office while the woman went over he vitals, making sure that the second child had not damaged her beyond what had been apparent. 

While her face remained passive, inwardly she frowned. _I knew nothing of Shinji's disappearance. Surely there is a good explanation for all of this._

She looked over at the doctor. "Dr. Akagi, did you know of Shinji's disappearance?"

Ritsuko looked up from her notes. "Ah… yes. I had heard that. But not the details. It's no longer NERV's concern."

"…Thank you."

Rei left Dr. Akagi's office and walked down the corridors, which were silent except for her own footsteps. The doctor hadn't known details. That was unfortunate. She would obtain these details from the commander, however. While the details may not be necessary for the doctor, surely the Commander would know the details of Shinji's fate.

She strode quickly through the halls to the Commander's office. Opening the door and stepping inside, she saw him hunched over his desk, pouring over reports. She didn't mind that though. The Commander always made time for her.

"Go away."

Rei blinked, then resolved herself. He simply didn't know who was here. "Commander…"

His eyes narrowed behind his glasses as he looked at her, and she did not see the warmth that she usually did. These eyes were cold and hard and shocked her with their intensity.

"What?"

Had Rei been the type she would have audibly gulped. The commander was… not acting as he usually did. She decided to get on with it and ponder the unusual behavior later. "What happened to Shinji?"

His gaze got colder if anything. "Get out."

She blinked, but made no move to leave. The commander glared at her. "The Third Child has been terminated from NERV, First Child. Now… Get. Out."

Rei turned and left. She did not run, but her pace was much more brisk than her usual relaxed one. She did not let up until she reached her apartment, where she lay down on her bed, her mind on the Commander's behavior.

As she lay there, her mind turned to Asuka's comments on the Commander from earlier that morning. _Asshole…_ From what she had seen others commenting on, the Commander's behavior that morning was something that definitely defined an 'asshole'.

Then there was Shinji. He had called his father a bastard, and she'd slapped him for it. She frowned. She'd seen some of the things that went on between the two, and she had to admit, looking on it after her own experiences, the Commander did not inspire… affection in others. Only in her.

Her frown deepened. It seemed that she was the exception to the rule. Just why had the commander always been so pleasant to her? Why did he risk himself for her, even though she could be replaced?

Why did she deserve that? It wasn't like she was unique, after all.

She didn't know the answer to that question.

For that matter, she didn't know any number of things, like why she was made in the first place. Certainly she was the first of the pilots, but that meant little. Shinji and Asuka had been born the natural way, and they were pilots as well. Trust issues didn't cover it. Shinji and Asuka had been kept in the dark on many things that she knew.

Then it hit her. The Commander was nicer to her, for the same reason he had explained he was nice to SEELE.

To curry favor.

Those who knew Rei Ayanami would have been startled to see a hardened look cross her face for a moment before it settled back on serenity.

_So he doesn't want the others to find out what I know. Why?_ She paused to consider this. She really didn't feel like she knew anything exceptional, other than the details of her creation, and a few things about Central Dogma, which Dr. Akagi knew about as well. _Or do I know more than I think?_

_I do not know the answers to my questions, but I _will_ find out._

* * *

Two days in a row, the school bore witness to historic events. 

In the morning before school, the teacher had waited nervously for class to start, and watched in silent horror as Asuka walked in and passed by Rei's desk.

Ms. Hokari was a trifle late, and raised some eyebrows at the large pink stuffed animal she was carrying, but in the wake of everything else it seemed trivial.

When Asuka passed by without even a sneer in Ms. Ayanami's direction, he trembled. Something worse was coming, he just knew it.

When the lunch bell rang without incident, Ms. Langley-Sohryu accompanying Ms. Hokari and the strange pink stuffed animal outside, he promptly went to the teacher's lounge to collapse onto a sofa, and take up smoking at three packs a day.

In the lunch yard, however, history was being made. Rei Ayanami was not sitting under her tree gazing into the distance just as she did during class. She was resolutely approaching the table of Asuka Langley-Sohryu.

Hikari Hokari noted the approach of Rei Ayanami from over Asuka's shoulder and trailed off in mid sentence. Asuka looked over her shoulder as well, following Hikari's gaze. She frowned. "Oh, great. What do you want, Wonder-bitch?"

Rei Ayanami spoke quietly as always. "It seems I have been mistaken about a great many things, Second Child. You are correct. The Comm…" Rei shook her head slightly. "_Gendo_ **is** an asshole. And I was nothing more than a doll."

As Asuka's mouth dropped as Rei turned around to walk away. Rei did not get very far before Asuka recovered herself, though. "Hey, Wonder-Girl!" Rei stopped and turned back. "You're the slowest person I've ever seen! Taking this long to figure out what's been obvious to everyone else!" Asuka calmed slightly before continuing. "Now get over here and tell me what boneheaded maneuver the asshole pulled to beat the truth into you."

And history was made, as for the first time in anyone's memory, Rei willing ate lunch with two others. She continued to do so for the four weeks Asuka was suspended from duty, and beyond.

* * *

ClassicCowboy: can't really say much cause really I haven't done much with this fic, BUT I will say these wise words of wisdom that are wise … give us some reviews, folks! ROCK ON!!Neverwhere: Riiight. Anyways, yes, reviews are good. This chapter was so late because Cowboy has personal issues. Fortunately those should be resolved shortly. This chapter was all me again, so I'm dumping the next one completely on him. 

Until I get bored out of my mind with his pitter-pattering extreme slowness/laziness and make it for him again.

But seriously, even if by some twisted fate I end up doing _every_ chapter myself, this fic wouldn't be nearly what it is, or even exist without massive input from the guys.

Enough with the sap. Out.


	3. The Unknown

Chapter 2 – The Unknown

Misato glanced down at her can for the umpteenth time then back to the scene that pretty much assured that the end of the world has come.

Sitting in the living room were three girls. Sure, normally this concept wouldn't be considered strange or taboo but two of these three girls have been known to be oil and water. One of which even Misato wasn't even aware knew what the term 'hang out' was till she came to the door a short while after Asuka and her friend Hikari arrived. "I need to stop drinking…" Misato whispered before downing the can.

Misato shook her head and approached the girls sitting on the floor at the coffee table. "Can I… um get you girls more soda, anything to eat?" Asuka's guardian asked, and mentally added 'An appointment for a CAT scan?'

"No thank you, C- Misato," Rei said, shocking Misato with the use of first names.

"Yeah, we're good, now go drink some more or something," Asuka said waving her hands signaling for Misato to leave. "We're in the middle of some girl talk so get lost."

Normally Misato would scold Asuka for rude behavior but considering the strange behavior all three have been showing Misato just nodded and left.

Hikari watched Misato go back into the kitchen area before turning to Asuka clinging the pink puffball to her chest, "That wasn't very nice, Asuka, in fact that was down right rude!"

"Yeah," Chu-Chu agreed, "Chu was very mean!"

"Listen here, you little pink… thing, this is my apartment so I'll be as mean as I want to be." Asuka snapped at the furry thing, before looking up at Hikari, "Where'd you find that little freak again?"

"SHE has a name, Asuka, her name is Chu-Chu," Hikari stated defensively, "And I… found her in an alley."

"Did you check it for rabies?" Asuka inquired taking a closer look at the timid little thing.

"It seems harmless enough…" Rei mused also looking at the pink fur ball in interest.

"Haven't you ever seen that old Pre-Second Impact movie, Gremlins?" Asuka asked, tugging on Chu-Chu's ear making it squeal. "They started out cute and lovable too, then all of the sudden they were killing everybody and their grandmother."

Chu-Chu wiggled in Hikari's arms trying to get away from the German girl picking at her ears and fur. "Chu good, Chu not hurt anyone!"

"So you say, little one," Rei crinkled her nose, buying Asuka's explanation hook, line, and sinker.

"Just don't feed it after midnight." Asuka advised, flicking Chu-Chu's pink nose.

"Ok, did we meet to pick on my new friend, or do we have more pressing matters." Hikari said trying to pull Chu-Chu from the two curious girls.

"I've searched all of the Commander's files that I could," Rei stated, a slight hint of anger in her voice when she said 'commander'. "All records of Ikari Shinji have been deleted with the exception of the date he was brought into NERV and the date he was terminated."

"T-Terminated?" Asuka paled slightly as her eyes widened.

"As in fired, Asuka," Hikari rolled her eyes, "Honestly …What happened to tough girl that was a pain in the rear end toward everyone?"

"What do you mean pain in the rear end?" Asuka snapped, glaring daggers at her friend.

"Apparently she is still among us," Rei said in a monotone voice, staring at the quickly blushing Asuka.

"Anyway, I've asked around the school and no one has seen him around." Hikari stated, bringing her thumb to her lip to nibble on her nail, "Not surprising the only friends he had were Touji and Kensuki and Kensuke's been missing for some time now… and Touji's…" She added drifting off with a sad look crossing her features.

"That's it? He had to have had more friends then that…" Asuka asked in a small voice a faint guilty expression dancing in her eyes.

"Pilot Ik… Shinji was a quiet person, Asuka," Rei stated, absently glancing toward his room, "He had few friends because he kept to himself, not unlike myself. He is ok though."

"How do you know?" Hikari asked curiously.

"When has he ever not been?" Rei asked, "I believe what Asuka has called him has some ground in reality: _Invincible_ Shinji."

"He's not invincible though," Asuka said quietly, taking a quick swig from her drink. "He lost…"

"The Angel was destroyed," Rei stated, "and though Shinji's Eva was destroyed, he lived. He survived a situation I feel I could not."

The room was quiet for several moments before Hikari startled both girls and Chu-Chu by sitting up and slamming her palms on the table, "What is with you two?" She snapped, glaring alternately from Asuka to Rei, "You're both acting like he's gone for good. Lets stop this he survived, he was, he did, and lets think about where is and what he is doing now."

"So …" Asuka asked, blinking at the red-faced Hikari.

"What do you suggest?" Rei asked, blinking curiously.

Hikari glanced from girl to girl before sitting back dejectedly, "I got nothin'."

* * *

The room was dark, the only light coming from the screens of various computers lit up around an object in the center of the room. The slight illumination coming from the screens lit the area just enough to see the object, which looked like nothing more than a futuristic coffin. 

For a moment, light entered the room more fully as the door to the outside opened with a hiss, then closed off just as suddenly. A figure entered the room, the glare from the monitors reflecting off the glasses the person wore.

Without bothering to check the other screens, the person closed slowly to the coffin like object in the center of the room, and laid a hand lovingly on it.

"I miss you. You were the closest thing to a daughter I ever had."

The person then turned and quickly pulled a chair up to one of the monitors and fiddled with it momentarily.

** Password:**

The figure hesitated briefly, before typing in the correct sequence.

** Password: Ye Shall Be As Gods**

The screen flashed momentarily, before it began bringing up the information requested.

** KP-X/Serial No. 000000002**

* * *

Asuka laid in her bed staring at the ceiling. Despite their valiant efforts discovering Shinji's whereabouts were next to impossible. 

"Stooge number two would be handy right about now…" Asuka mumbled, thinking about how useful Kensuke Aida's computer know-how would be in the search.

"Mein Gott!" Asuka whined, rolling over to lay on her belly, "all three of the Stooges have gotten themselves lost …" Asuka then flinched, "Well… two lost and one pushing up daises… I really have to watch what I say…" She scolded herself. Last time she absentmindedly picked fun of the late Touji, Hikari heard her and cried for forty-eight hours straight.

Asuka stiffened as she heard a sound outside her door. She listened for a moment and as she heard what sounded like footsteps she sat up. Misato would be at work till morning, so it would have to be…

Asuka jumped out of bed and slung the door open, "SHINJI!" She cried out, making the warm water penguin throw his beer can in the air and jump in fright.

The can fell on Pen-Pen's head, spilling its contents all over the black and white bird. Asuka smiled apologetically as the bird gave the girl the mother of all death glares before waddling toward the bathroom to clean itself up with the beer can still resting like a top hat on his head.

"Ikari Shinji where are you?" Asuka called out as she threw herself back on her bed. Her mind wondered back to earlier events like her first meeting of Shinji, Touji, and Kensuke on the Over the Rainbow'. She smiled at that. Though she never treated him as such he was the only real gentleman there; blushing and looking away when she accidentally flashed them. When Shinji, with no protection what so ever, saved her life in that volcano; risking his own life for hers. It was the only time she was happy to have a knight in shinning armor.

A sad smile spread on her face when she remembered when she, Shinji, and Wondergirl took on the spider-like Angel not too long ago. When he caught her from falling, that was actually an enjoyable battle. Then there was the time Shinji painted that beautiful picture of her. And the time they made love in his quarters … how gentle and loving he was … how his touch was so feather light and… "WHAAAAT?"

Asuka sat up with wide eyes, "Where in EVA's name did THAT come from?" She asked rubbing her face roughly. Shinji's never painted a picture of her, and she doubted Shinji could draw a convincing stick man. Or could he… "Maybe I'll ask when he gets back…" She mused, before blush at the second unfamiliar memory. She knew for a fact her and the Baka hadn't had sex. She then threw herself on the bed convincing herself that it was just a teenage hormone induced wet dream she's had mixing with reality. She rolled onto her back and let her hand wonder over her body a bit, remembering 'the dream'. "No way could the Baka be THAT good in the sack."

* * *

Kaji Ryoji whistled a nameless, but happy tune as he wandered down NERV's halls towards the command center. He'd been gone a while, but now he was back, and ready to find Misato, the love of his life. 

Or at least the love of moment, it was often hard to tell.

But, be that as it may, the point was, Kaji was back at NERV, and looking for Misato.

Thus, he was distracted, and surprised, when two strong arms reached out from a doorway and yanked him in suddenly. Still off balance, he allowed himself to be spun around and slammed against the wall.

When he saw his captor, his eyes brightened. "Hey, babe! I was just looking for you!"

Misato growled, and kept him pinned. "Where's Shinji?"

Kaji blinked, then smiled a little. "I heard through the grape vine he'd been fired and he'd run off again. Probably the smartest thing he ever did."

Misato narrowed her eyes. "Bullshit. You know where he is. You always know where he is. It's been that way since the beginning. You _always_ keep track of him. Now. Where. Is. He?"

Kaji kept his smile. "First of all, I it hasn't _always_ been that way, and there have been several times that I failed to keep track of him, as you well know. Who's to say now isn't one of those times?"

Misato growled again, then let the matter drop. _This isn't over Kaji._

As she stormed out of the room, Kaji chased after her. "Hey! Are you free for dinner?"

A few moments later, Kaji ran the other direction down the corridor, Misato chasing him with her pistol drawn.

* * *

Some two months later, Gendo called Ritsuko into Central Dogma. Upon arrival, she noted two others in the room apart from herself and the commander were present. 

One, Fuyutsuki was easily identified, but the other stood in the shadows and watched quietly. Ritsuko stood quietly, waiting for the Commander to explain why she was called in. She did not wait long.

"Doctor… What do you think our chances are, now that we are down one pilot?"

Ritsuko paused, then answered. "Not the greatest. The Magi predict very low odds of success now that we are down one pilot. Well, it's not the pilot, really, it's the Evangelion."

Gendo nodded. "Yes, the pilots are replaceable, but the Evangelions nearly priceless."

Fuyutsuki cleared his throat. "What about SEELE? Can't they get a hold of another core for us?"

Gendo grunted. "No. And not only that, they lost the fifth child _and_ his unit in an explosion a while back."

Fuyutsuki gaped. "But… why weren't we informed?"

Gendo snorted. "The old men chose to keep it from us until now. Convenient, isn't it?"

The dark figure in the back spoke then, his voice eerily calm, ghost like. "That is why _I_ am here."

Ritsuko raised an eyebrow. "You have a pilot and Evangelion?"

The figure said nothing for a short time, then spoke again. "No. Instead I bring you… this." Gendo placed a small vial on the table as the other figure spoke, so that no part of the stranger left the shadows. "It can exponentially increase the sync-ratios of your pilots. It must, however, be mixed with the LCL to take proper effect."

Gendo nodded. "Doctor, you will oversee the proper mix." He placed a small disk next to the vial. "On the disk are the proper ratios for the mixture, as well as how to synthesize more as needed."

Ritsuko arched an eyebrow. They'd searched for years to find something other than LCL that could allow the pilots to sync more easily with the Evas. "And just what is this wonder drug?"

Gendo smiled a cruel smile under his hands, but all in the room could see it in their minds. "It is called Drive, my dear doctor. It is called Drive."

* * *

The Alarm rang throughout the base as Misato watched the monitor carefully on the Command Center. The Angel in question was just floating in just inside orbit above the city as if it was patiently waiting for something. "What's it doing up there?" she asked out loud as the two Evas were prepared to be launched. 

"Are the Evas equipped with the long range weaponry?" Misato asked turning to the bridge crew, and got a affirmative response. "Alright then, send um up and blow that thing out of the sky."

"OK, Asuka, Rei, when you reach the surface, get tone and fire at will." Misato ordered when Rei and Asuka's faces appeared on the screen, "Let's do this one for Shinji-kun."

The two Evangelions rocketed to the city streets and stepped out with the large long range canons on their arms. "Ok, you stupid Angel, get in my sights…" Asuka said as she tried to line up her sights with the distant enemy. "Still out of range…"

"What the…" Asuka had to look away as a blinding light shot down over her. "What's it… wha… no… stay out… Get out!" Asuka whimpered, holding her head as she felt a strange energy poking and prodding through her memories, through her mind. It started as a simple digging but slowly grew in intensity, and the more Asuka fought to push her psychic invader out the more painful its exploration became.

"No… not that… Get out of my head!" Asuka grunted, as the Angel dug out painful memories Asuka wanted to forget: memories of her childhood, memories of her mother, memories of Shinji, "Ahhh! It's… IT'S RAPING MY MIND!" Asuka screamed gripping the sides of her head, curling into a ball in her entry plug. "Misato! Wonder-Girl! Shinji… please… help me, HELP ME!"

Inside the command center was chaos trying to find some way to help the tortured Asuka. "Only one way to stop this now," Command Ikari spoke up making his presence known, "Send Rei after the Lance."

"Um… Dr. Akagi, Major Misato, Commander Ikari," Maya spoke up nervously, glancing up at the group, "We've got something coming in supersonic. I've never seen readings like this before."

"What… is that thing? Oh no …" Misato's eyes widened, seeing the rapidly approaching object.

"Weltall…" Gendo breathed under his breath.

* * *

Asuka's screamed as pain grew more and more in her mind when suddenly it stopped and she fell forward panting for air. "Thank Gott … what …" 

"Gott had nothing to do with it, oh bitchy one." Asuka's eyes widened at the cold voice and glanced up to see a red haze surrounding her Eva.

Asuka glanced up to see a flame-winged, blood red mecha floating before her Eva radiating a eerie red glow that cut off the blinding light from the Angel.

"Ok, you bastard, you want to see inside my head, huh?" the blood-red machine's pilot asked angrily, "Go ahead, you son of a bitch, you won't last two seconds!"

"Hey, baby, you wait your sexy ass right there," he said, his red hair and eyes appearing on Asuka's view screen. "The Devil's gotta go kick some angelic ass. Be back in a second."

A moment later the red machine shot into the skies, its pilot roaring like a crazed berserker.

"It … is going into orbit…" Rei said softly as the Red Machine disappeared out of range of the naked eye. A moment later the glimmer that was the Angel and the light coming from it ceased.

After a few moments, the machine returned rocketing toward the red Unit 02, the angel's bodily fluids dripping from the machine's arms, as it didn't even begin to slow down. Asuka screamed as it flew right up to her, stopping on a dime less then a foot from the Eva. "Hi." The pilot said overconfidently.

Asuka's eyes widened staring into the machine's glowing optics, its eerie light making the machine look alive. "Sorry, baby, but I can't stick around. Maybe next time I'll have time to stick around for the pre-fight kiss you owe me for saving your damned ass so many times. Keep that cute ass clean, Asuka-chan," the pilot said moving to the side and rocketing forward, pausing a split second to slap Unit 02's posterior. "Buh-bye!"

The Bridge crew was silent glancing from each other, to the screen, none really paying attention to Asuka's rants and curses. "Commander, what was that thing?" Ritsuko asked staring at the captured footage of the blood red machine, "How could it destroy an angel, or even move that fast … Commander?" Ritsuko asked turning to find both Gendo and Misato missing. "The Commander… that would be expected… but Misato?"

* * *

C. Cowboy: Not much to really say that won't spoil the story so just enjoy, review, and give us the grand respect we greatly deserve! (just kiddin' but we like nice reviews) 

Neverwhere: Humility isn't his strong suit. Neither is the skill of timely updates. Though I can't really say anything either.


	4. Live Broadcast

Chapter 3 – Live Broadcast

Kaji looked at his monitor in awe, and if he was honest with himself, more than a little fear. Not that that was a surprise, Id had always struck fear into him. Still, Kaji got the funny feeling now was a good time for a vacation. _Wait… I've used all my recent vacation time._

Well, a few sick days would suffice. _An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, they say._ Kaji quietly gathered his things and left the room.

Walking out of his room, Kaji got the insane urge to tip-toe through the corridors. _That's ridiculous. They'll be tied up watching replays of Id for hours before they get to… urk!_

Just like two months previous, Kaji was tugged into a room, flipped around, and slammed into a wall. Catching his breath he idly noted it was Misato again. _Nuts. She looks pissed, too. Double nuts._

"I told you then that this wasn't over, Kaji…"

Kaji adopted a confused expression. "No you didn't."

Misato growled reached to her waist with one hand and whipped her pistol into his face. "It was implied, asshole. Now tell me what you did to Shinji!"

"Moi? I didn't do a thing, Misato."

There was a clicking noise as the hammer drew back. "Bull. That was Id out there, and Id shouldn't exist anymore!"

Kaji's voice was quiet. "Not unless the contact was put through some sort of powerful trauma, right?"

Misato's eyes narrowed. "Right. Now tell me what you did to unleash that monster."

Kaji cocked his head. "Me? Bring out Id? Considering my history with him, the last thing _I_ want-"

Misato waved the gun threateningly. "You, your superiors, whatever! What the hell did you do?"

Kaji glared down at her, dropping all pretense of humor from himself. "What makes you think _we_ did anything?"

Misato tightened her grip. "Id never came out _here_ no matter what Gendo put him through."

Kaji snorted humorlessly. "Berserker mode doesn't mean anything to you?"

"That wasn't Shinji, that was-"

Kaji was quiet for a moment. "Are you sure? Even if you're right, can you imagine what that would do to someone's mind anyways?"

Misato was speechless for a moment. She looked at him. "You really had nothing to do with it, did you?" She let him go then stormed out of the room and down the hall.

"A 'I'm sorry for biting your damned head off' would have been nice!" came after her from Kaji. She ignored it and headed back to the command center. It promised to be a long day.

Kaji went home. _Definitely time to use those sick days._

* * *

Rei and Asuka were changing in the locker room, Asuka still shuddering from both the attack and their savior. Rei glanced at her. "Do you know exactly what that red machine was?" 

Asuka growled a moment. "No, but the pilot's a damn pervert! He grabbed my ass out there!"

"I saw."

Asuka looked over at Rei incredulously. "No? Really? Newsflash wonder girl! The whole damn _city_ probably saw that! Do you have any idea what that will do to my reputation? My life is ruined!"

"I predict you will be the object of some teasing for several weeks, then it will die down."

Asuka glared.

* * *

For a little while, nothing happened, and true to Rei's prediction, the laughter did eventually die down, most likely due to the absence of any stooges to perpetuate the scene. 

At the end of a three month break though, Asuka and Rei were summoned to the command center for business. But not their usual business.

Asuka stormed into the command center, Rei only a step behind her. "What's going on? An angel?"

Misato shook her head from where she and Ritsuko were seated. "No… this is probably a lot worse than that."

The Commander's voice sounded from behind them, and Rei's expression turned even frostier than normal at it's presence, if that was possible. "Show them."

Ritsuko sighed. "This is going to be broadcast later tonight. We were lucky to get a hold of it this early. But…" She glanced at Gendo "We can't stop the broadcast for some reason." She pushed a button, and one of the larger monitors lit up and began playing.

The monitor displayed what seemed a barren wasteland, with a deep crater in it, the view being taken from helicopter. Scattered around the crater were various pieces of scrap metal and what looked like massive, twisted, and burnt human limbs. The area was blocked off, and there were police crews all over the scene. A French voice started over the speakers, which was translated into Japanese on the fly by a reported.

"This is Francois DeLuc from thirty miles outside Paris-2. Earlier today, residents of Eurasia's capital were literally shaken when a massive explosion went up from right at this spot.

"A few people reported seeing strange lights and hearing what sounded like cannon fire shortly before the explosion occurred. Police are unwilling to guess as to what exactly happened, though several scientific sources in the community seem to believe that a 'clean' nuclear reactor, perhaps something similar to an 'N2' bomb, if not an N2 itself was the cause of this devastation.

"As to the massive limbs scattered around… we can only speculate, but inside sources have indicated that these may be Evangelions, the secret weapon that NERV has used to fight off the 'angels' in Japan.

"Has Commander Gendo Ikari lost control of the Evangelion design? Are there terrorists out there with Evangelions at their command? If so… what is NERV going to do about it?

"There are no answers coming yet, and the world hangs in the balance while we ask the question on everyone's minds tonight. If it came down to it, could anything short of a nuclear strike such as this stop an Evangelion?

"Francois DeLuc, Eurovision 6 News."

Ritsuko pushed another button, and the recording stopped, and the screen went dark.

Rei turned to Ikari. "Commander-"

Gendo grunted, and stormed out of the room, not answering her. Rei sighed as other people began filing out of the room, and then turned to the doctor.

"Doctor Akagi, may I speak with you privately?"

Ritsuko, still sitting at her station, looked up with a little surprise. "Certainly, Rei. Give me a moment, then we can go to my office to talk, okay?"

Rei nodded, and waved Asuka off, before sitting down and waiting for the Doctor to finish. It was a short walk back to her office, but since they were alone, Ritsuko started talking anyway. "So, Rei, what's on your mind?"

"I… have been experiencing… my chest tightens, and I'm not sure why. It isn't painful, but…"

Ritsuko frowned. "Hmmm… anything else you can tell me about this? What brings them on?"

"Thoughts of Ik… Shinji."

Had Ritsuko been drinking, she was certain a spit-take would have followed. As it was she still gave a good approximation. Straightening herself, she spoke. "I… don't think we should talk about this here, Rei."

As she said that, she glanced meaningfully at one of the security cameras, and Rei nodded, so Ritsuko continued. "I'll give you a ride home, and we can discuss it there, okay?"

Rei nodded, and they continued in silence until they reached Ritsuko's car. The two drove in silence for a few moments, before Dr. Akagi spoke up. "Okay, Rei. Your chest tightens whenever you think of Shinji, right?"

Rei nodded, and she continued. "Okay, are there any other... symptoms?"

Rei considered for a moment. "My eyes... they seem to burn occasionally."

Ritsuko nodded. "Absolutely _anything_ else, Rei?"

Rei shook her head.

"Okay. The doctor's prognosis is... you miss Shinji."

Rei blinked. "What?"

Ritsuko rolled her eyes. "You miss him. Chest tightening and eyes burning, a prelude to crying, often brought on by thoughts of the subject, Shinji. If he were still here and your eyes didn't burn I'd tell you you were in love with him. It might still be the case."

Rei's thoughts trailed off at that, and they remained in silence until Ritsuko parked outside Rei's building. _What... is this dump?_ She looked over at her expresionless blue haired companion. "You... live here?"

"Yes... is that a problem?"

Ritsuko blinked. Shinji'd reported it as a dump before, so she wasn't expecting it to be pretty, but this was almost condemned. "Um... not really... let's go upstairs and talk some more, okay?" _Gotta see the rest of this place. I knew Gendo was slime, but this is how he treats people he actually _likes?

* * *

Asuka was scared out of her mind as Misato drove her back to their apartment. This was caused not so much by Misato's being all over the road, but by the extreme lack of it. _Mein Gott! She's even stopping for stop signs!_

Misato drove crazily while sober and ludicrously insane while drunk. Both she and... Shinji (the baka) had grown numb to it. A perfectly stable car with Misato in control was something she was not equiped to handle at the moment. Misato was still silent and contemplative as they walked into the apartment, and fianlly Asuka couldn't take any more. "Misato?"

Misato blinked at her, then smiled a little subdued. "Yes?"

"What's wrong?"

Misato was taken off guard. "What?"

"You heard me."

Misato sighed, and fingered the cross on her choker. "Asuka? Do you know why I wear this cross?"

Asuka shook her head quietly. "No..."

Misato grimaced a little, and got a beer from the fridge. Just when Asuka was about to blow again, she started talking. "When I was a little younger than you are, my father handed it to me before sealing me in the pod that saved my life. I swore on it and their memories that I would never allow those so called 'angels', those bastards, that I would never allow them to hurt anyone else that I cared about."

Asuka grimaced herself. "And now everyone's gone."

Misato nodded. "Everyone but you. And now..."

Asuka looked at her curiously. "What?"

She shrugged despondently. "What were we thinking? The Evangelions... they might end up being as bad or worse than the angels themselves."

"The cure is worse than the disease," Asuka murmured.

Misato nodded again. "Right. I mean, they've hurt everyone who's gotten into them so far."

Asuka frowned. "Misato..."

She shook her head. "Don't deny it Asuka. If that thing hadn't been there and taken out the last angel who knows what would have happened to you."

Asuka snorted. "I'm stronger than that, Misato."

Misato looked at her evenly. "And you regularly cry out for Shinji to help you?"

Asuka wilted, then her head came up in anger. "Fine. I'll make _you_ a promise then. I swear I'll never let the Evangelions hurt people we care about again."

Misato smiled sadly and finished off her can. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Asuka."

Asuka glared at her guardian. "I'm not joking, Misato."

Misato nodded slowly, and then rose. "Wait here."

Asuka looked at her, puzzled, but waited while Misato entered her room. She came back a moment later with a squarish box about an inch high, velvet with silver edges. Asuka's eyes bulged. A jewelry box. Misato handed it to her. "I had this made for you. I don't really know what I was waiting for. Maybe for Shinji to give to come back and make _him_ give it to you, but... here. You need something to symbolize that oath." She looked Asuka in the eyes. "Assuming you're serious."

Asuka snorted. "Of course I am. We can't just let Evangelions wander around hurting people all the time. Especially that baka." The last was added under her breath.

Asuka took the box from Misato and opened it up. Inside was a pendant like Misato's, but different. The cross was more... ornate. Each of the spines was skinnier near the base, but wider near the ends, which tapered off into three points. There was a loop through the spine at the the top, latching it to a black choker. In the center of the cross was a red-purple jewel that didn't look like any stone she'd ever encountered before.

"Nissan..." She whispered.

"What was that?"

Asuka shook herself out of it. "What's the stone made of?"

Misato smiled a little sadly. "A hardened fragment of 01's core. It's not really worth anything, but it looks kinda nice and..."

"It was Shinji's." Asuka said softly.

Misato nodded.

"Thanks Misato." Asuka wandered into her room, never taking her eyes off the pendant.

* * *

The person laid a loving hand on the coffin like device and smiled faintly. "Soon. I promise you'll awaken soon." The door hissed open behind the figure, and it spun around, then sagged in relief. "Oh. It's only _you_." 

The other figure snorted. "Seeing how much I invested in this project, I'd think you'd be a bit more grateful. How's it coming, anyway?"

The first figure shrugged. "About what you'd expect. Completely built, systems ready – as far as we know, but she's not combat worthy yet. I have yet to do any formation of a personality matrix, much less get to field testing. You know we don't dare do a thing without the field testing, right Miang?"

Miang nodded and sat on the figure's desk. "I know. You've stated a thousand times how important that is, how many things could go catastrophically wrong, but if we don't do something fast, we'll all be killed. You've gone over the footage as much as I have – if not more. We need something to be able to counter Id. Can she do it?"

The figure smiled. "Yes. She can, but she has to learn, and for that I'll need the time complete her. You're going to have to come up with a way to hold Id back long enough for me to get her online and up to spec. Without it, even she's just going to be another toy in his way."

Miang sighed. "I'm not sure how much time I can buy, but I'll do the best I can."

The figure smiled. "That's all I'm asking."

Miang nodded and stood, stretching a bit. "Okay, next on the agenda. How are the 'extras' doing?"

The figure smiled. "Ahead of schedule actually. It was a simple matter of adapting the blueprints from what I remembered. The hard part was material acquisition and we handled that easily enough."

Miang nodded. "Any containment issues?"

This figure looked a little puzzled. "No… and that worries me a little. Last time I dealt with this kind of thing, all kinds of power spikes came at odd moments. Now… nothing. Feels strange to me."

Miang frowned a bit. "Hmm… Maybe it's because the consciousness left the original. It's not going to draw power…"

"Unless one of the emulators makes a direct request. Makes sense." The figure shrugged. "Ah, the wonders of Zohar. Oh well."

Miang smirked. "Well, just remember who acquired those for you, eh? Hmm. Okay, one more thing and then I'll leave. What about the special project I asked you to work on?"

"The restoration?" The person frowned this time. "Difficult at best. Not only is it decomposed beyond belief, it's under heavy guard constantly. I can't exactly 'acquire' it at the moment. Not without risking myself. Maybe you can provide a distraction?"

Miang nodded. "I didn't expect it to be easy. I'd just feel better with it at my finger tips."

The figure nodded. "So would I, to tell the truth."

Miang nodded. "I'll try to come up with a distraction, but let's see if we can't get sleeping beauty online first. Plausible deniability and all that."

The figure nodded. "Yes, that would be best too. Now get out of here. You're disrupting my work."

Miang grinned and sauntered out. The figure sighed. "There are days I hate that woman."

* * *

Neverwhere: WAAAAH! Okay, the lateness is all me this time, but don't think that doesn't mean I won't hound Classic's butt on the next chapter, conveniently forgetting how late this one was. But now that it's done, I'm happy with it as it is. Go me. 

C. Cowboy: blank look blink blink


	5. Agent Ayanami

Chapter 4 – Agent Ayanami

Ritsuko Akagi sat staring at the computer screen in front of her, not really seeing the data there, no matter how fast his bastardness wanted the 'Drive' up and running.

No, what Ritsuko saw was more along the lines of Rei's apartment, and the general shambles it was kept in. It disturbed, and confused, her to no end that Gendo would keep something (_someone_ she reminded herself) in such squalid conditions, just pretending it didn't exist. He'd likely continue to ignore it unless it interrupted his precious 'scenario'…

Except that with Shinji gone and Unit 01 destroyed during the attack of the fourteenth angel, the scenario she was aware of was forever compromised.

She frowned. So in all likelyhood, unless Rei's apartment entered into whatever the new scenario was, he'd never get around to realizing it, or just stop ignoring it.

The frown deepened. That was the way Gendo dealt with every problem. It was ignored unless it posed a threat to his plans, and then it was dealt with with extreme prejudice. And everyone else was expected to ignore it along with him.

The blonde scientist snorted. As if Yui would go along with that and simply ignore the blood of untold billions on Gendo's hands when they were reunited. She'd met Yui Ikari a few times in the early days of the project when her mother had been alive. She'd honestly believed that it was for the good of mankind, and had known nothing about SEELE's original scenario, or Gendo's subtle alterations.

She sighed. She was straying from the point. She had a problem, and she didn't know what to do about it. She had motherly instincts awakening in response to Rei's plight, instincts she hadn't known she possessed. Certainly her mother hadn't instilled them into her, seducing and sleeping with Gendo even while Yui was still alive, never mind after.

The question was what to do about those instincts. The girl's place was in shambles, and she did have that spare room in her apartment, but the real trick of the matter was slipping it by the Great Bastard King.

Ritsuko paused and considered that last thought. She'd certainly started thinking about Gendo in a very derogatory fashion lately, not that she blamed herself. It was just that she couldn't afford to let herself slip out loud, and slipping in her thoughts was the first step towards that. Well, she couldn't let herself slip as long as she wanted to live at any rate. With 'Plan A' failing, Gendo would likely be twice as ruthless with the rest of them now.

She shrugged silently. So be it. It wasn't like there weren't other ways to keep herself safe from him. She frowned a little. Maybe she'd better start up one of those plans just to be safe…

_Damn it!_ She'd let herself slip off topic again. What the hell was she going to do about Rei, and the nagging feeling that just wouldn't leave her alone?

Well, no she knew that. She'd simply have to follow up on the earlier thought and take the girl in. Or, even better, have Misato take her in. Rei and Asuka were actually getting along now. And it was better than nothing. Or at least better than where she was now.

Well, where Rei went would likely be left up to Gendo. The trick was to slip it by Gendo. That'd certainly take a minor miracle in and of itself.

Then she remembered her earlier thought about self-defense. She grimaced a little. There was no reason said self defense couldn't be brought to _Rei's_ defense with a little ingenuity. _I mean, that building's so close to condemned, I'd be surprised it nothing happened to it anyways, even _without_ me helping it along._

---

Ritsuko smiled. A brief peek into Section 2's roster had revealed a period of time in the dead of night when there was no one on duty. Rei herself was conveniently sleeping in Misato's apartment for the night. The security on Rei was always a little lax, mostly because Rei was 'replaceable'.

She gave the arm mounted plasma cannon, with optional plasma blade setting, a semi-loving stroke, before pressing the switch to dematerialize it back into a small, contained Sea of Driac, leaving nothing but a slightly odd wristband that was easily concealed by her lab coat.

Her smile brightened again in the cheery blaze of what was left of Rei's rapidly self consuming apartment building. With all the people pulling out from angel attacks, property was so cheap Rei was only there because she'd been ordered. Everyone else had had the better sense to move out months ago. So, she was essentially guilt free about her act of arson. She'd taken a look at the plans for the building, and carefully aimed her shot through the boarded up window into the power circuit for the place. Hopefully, the police would realize the dilapidated state of the building and not suspect arson. Or, even if they did, they likely wouldn't realize _exactly_ what had happened.

She shrugged and turned to leave. It wasn't like this level of technology was something the police would consider anyways.

---

Gendo Ikari looked at the three people in front of him wearily. He did not need this at the moment.

SEELE was all over him for a viable back up plan. It wasn't that he didn't have one (and with the exception of this little hick up was proceeding smoothly) but that he had to make the plan he had go with what he presented to them, so that those old men wouldn't know what was going on until it was too late.

And now he had to deal with this. He shifted his outwardly cool gaze towards the only other male in the room, the soon-to-be former Commander of Section 2. "Please state what occurred for the record, Commander."

The man visibly cringed. "Yes sir. As was said previously, the First Child's apartment building was burnt to the ground. The fire department has issued a statement confirming it to be a freak accident."

Gendo held up his hand to stop the man. "We are aware of that much. I am referring to the part where you and your men showed up only after several hours had passed. Are you not supposed to be on guard outside the residences of all of the children at all times?"

"Well, we were on watch outside the domicile of Captain Katsuragi, where the First Child slept for the night."

Gendo, in a rare show of humanity, groaned and cradled his head in one hand, and the other groped blindly for a desk drawer. Whether for painkillers, alcohol, or a gun, no one could tell.

Finally he gave up, and glared at the man. "You are aware that anyone intending harm to one of the children would likely sneak in when no one was there?" He sighed, apparently upset at the futileness of the question, then continued. "Right. You're fired. Be gone within the hour." As the man quickly vacated the room, he addressed the other two people in the room, Ritsuko and Misato. "This issue now is to get the First Child a new dweling."

Ritsuko shrugged. "I don't see why there's even an issue here. Misato has handled the other children just fine. Let her handle Rei. Especially now that Shinji's gone."

Gendo's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, the only indication of his current frustration. "There are… complications with that Dr. Akagi. As you well know."

Misato raised an eyebrow. "Complications?"

Ritsuko grimaced a little. "Rei has certain… dietary needs. But certainly nothing you shouldn't be able to handle with a little forethought."

Gendo grunted. "Be that as it may, doctor, _you_ will be assuming guardianship of the First Child until further notice. That is all."

Knowing the conversation was over with, both women rose and exited. Misato smirked. "Well, that went well. What are you going to do with her?"

Ritsuko scowled at her friend. "I have the room, but some of the things in my apartment are… sensitive."

Misato shrugged. "So you'll have to clean up a little bit. Big deal."

Ritsuko smirked. "Oh, like you're one to talk."

---

Dr. Akagi was out… doing something for NERV in her labs, making this the perfect time for Rei to attempt to access the Doctor's computer, now that six months had passed.

More than enough time to let her feel more comfortable with Rei's presence during her absence.

Coming up on a password sequence, Rei frowned ever so slightly, before trying something. An error message appeared, before the password screen came up again. She had two more tries to get the password, or it would lock down, and not even the correct sequence would open it until NERV had verified who had tried to access it.

Rei glanced around the room, looking at everything in it. Then a slight smile came to her face and she entered a second sequence.

The computer paused for several seconds, then began normal operations. Rei allowed herself a small smirk before looking into the Doctor's recent files.

Several things had been accessed recently. Opening the first, she saw a description of LCL and its affect on the human body. Skimming over it briefly, she noted the LCL had no real effects on the body, but as stated conducted her thoughts more easily to her unit.

Surprisingly, this document also stated that emotional state was critical to this process, that the pilot's emotional state should match the Evangelion's for best results. She pondered this for a moment before moving on.

She went through several other documents, before she found something interesting.

Drive, it was called.

A drug the document noted, that in its pure form would reach deep down inside and bring out all the untapped potential inside a person. It couldn't add things a person wasn't capable of, but it could temporarily bring out hidden skills a person wasn't aware they had.

When mixed with LCL in the right ratios, however, it had the additional effect, that of raising synchronization rates.

There were however downsides. Drive in its pure form gave a person an extreme personality shift, usually towards megalomaniacal end of the spectrum. It was also a highly addictive substance.

The reason for the increased sync rate however was because of the personality shift, as the substance affected both Pilot and Evangelion, shifting them both to the same state.

Rei closed the file after reading that and pondered it for a few moments.

Then, as her cell phone began to ring, she deftly logged out and restarted the computer before answering as she hurried out of the house and towards NERV.

---

In his command room in Terminal Dogma, Gendo Ikari watched the screen on his desk quietly, pondering.

The screen itself showed Rei sitting at Dr. Akagi's home computer. The computer security that was secretly placed in every employee computer had paid off. It had noted that Someone was logged in that the Doctor's residence when she was quite obviously doing her job in the lab. It had notified him personally, and quietly. Then it was a simple matter to access the hidden cameras placed in the room.

Now he had only to decide what to do about this.

Then the alarms started going off, and he stood, heading for the command center.

---

Asuka, in her entry plug, stared at the angel. It just… hovered there, like it was waiting for something. She noted Rei off to the side, 00 armed with its customary rifle. She shifted the pole arm in her grip absently, trying to get a better feel for it. She seethed at it, willing it to die. Her mind snapped back to the last battle.

She'd been… helpless. Afraid. Crying.

She snapped, and charged the angel, ignoring the shouts that came from the com systems.

She struck, her pole-axe lunging toward the angel, which bent itself out of the way before arching towards her.

Not _quite_ incapacitated with rage, Asuka managed to dodge out of the way, letting the flowing circle fly past her like a rubber band.

She cursed under her breath and readied herself for the next charge.

---

In the attack shelter, Hikari stood with Chu-Chu in her arms. Her parents had been caught at work, and the rest of her building had been cleared out with everyone leaving Tokyo 3, so no one could comment on why she had thought it necessary to bring a stuffed animal with her down to the shelter.

She clutched her friend a little tighter as she watched Asuka's Evangelion be savagely hit by the angel. A few bursts by Rei off to the side got the angel to back off momentarily, but that was all.

Chu-Chu watched with wide eyes as it all happened. Hikari didn't notice when the set look came into her friend's face, but did notice when the pink hairball squirmed out of her arms. "Chu-Chu?"

Her fiend looked up at her, eyes huge. "Chu-Chu's going to help!"

Hikari took an involuntary step back. "…? Going to help…? Chu-Chu, no you'll be killed. Be a good girl and stay here, okay?"

Chu-Chu thought for a moment. "Uh hmmm... " Then she grinned at Hikari. "Chu-Chu's not a good girl. I'm in that dangerous age right now. And Chu-Chu can help! She's going to help her friends!"

Then she took off out the door. Hikari paused only for a second before following.

---

Asuka growled and charged once more. Her pole arm having been sliced in half by just the angel's AT field, she now only had her progressive knife to defend herself. By concentrating on survival first, she'd managed avoid any solid hits to her Evangelion's body, thankfully.

It came in again, and Asuka resigned her self to the role of playing bait, hoping Rei could pick it off from a distance, as the flowing circle hadn't yet revealed a core. She dodged and struck, but both her knife and several rounds from 00's rifle glanced harmlessly off the angel's impossibly strong AT field.

The angel moved back, and then did something completely unexpected. It separated, becoming like a string as it unwound in mid air.

_No_, Asuka thought then, _it's not a string it's a snake._

She'd barely finished the thought before one end snapped back at her faster than she could bring her knife up to defend herself.

---

Hikari chased Chu-Chu up the stairs of her building, rapidly approaching the surface, which was where the 'roof' was given all the buildings were suspended below the surface during an angel attack. "Chu-Chu! Please, wait!"

Chu-Chu did stop this time, and smiled at Hikari, before turning serious. "I'm going."

Hikari started. "But Chu-Chu…"

Chu-Chu gave her a soft smile, like the one she'd given that day in the alley. "So… please let me go along. No problem. I'll be fine."

Hikari collapsed and started sobbing. "No Chu-Chu! Don't!"

Chu-Chu walked back to where Hikari was, and gave the girl a hug. "Leave it up chu me, Hikari. No sweat."

Chu-Chu turned around again and ran up to the roof hatch. Hikari staggered to her feet and followed.

---

Asuka staggered back fighting with angel for control of her Eva. On the other side of the battlefield, Rei waited, partly obscured by the raised building she'd obtained her current rifle from. She'd taken aim, but was obviously unwilling to fire on Asuka while there was still a struggle taking place.

The voice of the commander came over her com once again. "Rei. Destroy the angel."

On screen, Rei shook her head. "Negative. Pilot Sorhyu is still engaged."

The voice came as a growl. "The eva has been compromised. It's only a matter of time."

Rei shook her head. "Negative." Taking her hand from the controls for a moment, she then disabled the direct com from Gendo's terminal.

Asuka's flailing then hit a building, knocking off the top portion, sending it on its way to the ground. Eyeing the likely landing zone of the debris, Rei showed a sudden burst of emotion as she saw movement underneath where it would land.

She quickly zoomed her camera in just in time to see Hikari exit the roof hatch and freeze, obviously having caught sight of the falling portion of building.

---

Neverwhere: Chaos Mode – Wow. Finally got a chapter out. Well, for the foreseeable future, chapters will be out regularly on Saturdays, once every other week.

No, really.

I can actually guarantee this, as the next seven chapters are already written. Of course, six of those chapters were written about six months before we actually posted the prologue, so it's not like too much of that time was spent on this… but we did write two of them in the time we've taken!

So… see you in two weeks.

It's our hope that Classic will be able to churn out an additional chapter or two in the remaining time between now and then, but we'll see what happens. Procrastination and writer's block and all that.

C. Cowboy: Procrastination, writers block, new jobs, school, women, food, lots of things to get in the way but I shall not be diverted, I shall not be delayed, I SHALL PRODUCE GOOD FICTION WITHOUT DISTRACTION ... is that cake?


	6. Big Big Churansformation

Chapter 5 – Big Big Churansformation

Auska stared in horror at her view screen at where the debris was going to hit. Even though she had left it in her locker, Asuka could feel the weight of the cross Misato had given her acutely. An evangelion was going to hurt someone – worse, someone she cared about – and there wasn't a thing she could do to stop it.

Then the strange part happened. The small blob of pink she recognized as Chu-Chu began to glow.

---

In the command center, everyone stopped. Misato stopped. Ritsuko stopped. Fuyutsuki stopped. Gendo stopped. On the screen even the _angel_ stopped moving as the impossible happened.

---

Chu-Chu stopped growing as her height topped out at just over eighty feet. Smaller than an evangelion, but big enough. In her hand, she held a very nervous Hikari. She slowly and carefully secured Hikari in the ribbon on her head, before breaking into a full blown happy dance.

"Kyow! I did it! I did the big big churansformation!" She turned and glared at the angel possessing Unit 02. "Well, let's get ready chu rumble you bad boy! Get your butt ready chu be kicked across the other end of the horizon! I'm Chu-Chu. Don't be a bad loser! If you wanchu apologize, you had better do it while you still can!"

Everyone still frozen in shock, save Hikari who was attempting to keep from throwing up form Chu-Chu's happy dance, Chu-Chu calmly approached Unit 02, and laid both hands on it.

Chu-Chu began to glow once more, and the evangelion began to glow with her, a soul rending sound emanating from where the angel was attached. The angel finally detached, wriggling off Unit 02 and into the air.

Rei, finally, was the first to react. She switched on the com to Asuka. "Is that what happens when you feed one after midnight?"

Asuka blinked, twitched, and screamed in rage in that order. She scooped up her fallen knife, and rushed headlong at the angel again. The angel attempted to flow around the attack, but Chu-Chu's attack had taken its toll, and it didn't move quite fast enough as the progressive knife managed to cut through the AT field and sever a small piece of it.

As if suddenly realizing its vulnerability, it fled Asuka and went into the next viable target. Unit 00. Asuka maneuvered Unit 02 in close carefully, the giant Chu-Chu right behind her.

Rei struggled with the angel, hoping to buy enough time so that maybe the giant hairball could eject the angel from her evangelion as well.

---

In his chair in the command center, Gendo made his decision. It was brutally efficient, like almost anything he did. He tapped a few buttons on his consol. With the next press of a button, he would dispose of the traitor, gain a loyal pawn, and convince the old men of SEELE that all was well with the scenario.

Gendo pushed the final key, then watched with a grim smile under his folded hands as Unit 00 detonated.

---

Rei was in an extraordinary amount of pain as she lay in the shattered remains of her entry plug. He back was broken, she knew. There was a sudden pounding outside and Rei had a sudden feeling of déjà vu.

The pounding outside, muffled cursing as the person burned themselves on the superheated metal panels, finally the hatch coming open.

But this time the muffled cursing was female, and the person who stood in the hatch of the ruined entry plug was not Gendo Ikari, but Ritsuko Akagi.

The doctor took one look at her ruined form, and bolted inward, telling Rei to lie still and not to move, checking her vital signs as she did so.

Rei could feel the affection coming off the woman, someone who knew she was replaceable, and smiled, even as the world turned black.

---

Asuka rushed through the hallways as soon as her preliminary examination was through, attempting to check on the status of the First Child.

As much as she hated to admit it, Rei had become a close friend in the months since she had stopped idolizing Gendo. Rushing into Ritsuko's office, she found Hikari there, Chu-Chu being examined with… something. All three looked up at her approach.

"There something I can do for you, Asuka?" the scientist asked.

Asuka rushed in without any preamble. "What happened to Rei?"

Ritsuko paused for a moment, as if considering just what to tell the girl. Then she squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. "Rei…"

Then, the bastard king walked in the door, and she continued in a completely different tone of voice. "Will be just fine…" Her eyes had darted to Gendo the moment he'd walked in, and never left him.

Gendo merely grunted. Ritsuko switched topics. "This… Chu-Chu has a biology unlike anything I've seen before. On a cursory examination, its internal anatomy resembles most mammals, but that does nothing to explain the growth its apparently capable of.

"Apparently, her cells are somewhat… elastic, the cells receive energy from… somewhere… then fill the cells, causing them to balloon. The end result… an eighty foot pink hairball."

Gendo scowled. Ritsuko interrupted him as he opened his mouth. "No. I don't know where she gets the energy from. There's no sign of it being metabolized energy… it simply is."

Gendo's scowl deepened, but he said nothing, simply turned on his heel and walked out. Asuka looked at Hikari, who nodded. Asuka asked. "Can we see Rei?"

Ritsuko bit her lip. "Not… at the moment Asuka. Perhaps in a day or two. While she's… going to be fine, she'll need time to recover."

Asuka nodded her head, and Hikari gathered Chu-Chu before they left.

---

It was immediately apparent two weeks later that _this_ was not the Rei Ayanami who had joined Asuka for lunch on that day almost a year previous. She entered the classroom, sat down and began staring out the window as she had previously, without even a nod to Asuka or Hikari.

Hikari, on the other hand, was mobbed by the classroom, as Chu-Chu had been recognized from the last angel battle.

---

Two months later, a figure sat making a few last minute changes to a file on the keyboard, as Miang entered the room.

"How's it going."

The spectacled person didn't look up from the current typing. "Very soon now. I've almost integrated the personality into the main structure. The difficult part was the physical adjustments we were forced to make. This is just setting up the autonomic functions."

Miang nodded. "How's the reliability?"

The figure smirked and used a free hand to adjust the glasses on their nose. "What do you think?"

Miang grinned. "Fantastic. Then as soon as we finish the testing and start up procedures…"

The figure nodded. "We can begin the recovery and restoration project. But I still think we'll need a distraction."

Miang nodded. "That's fine. I know of just the distraction we can use." She paused and fingered the coffin. "But sleeping beauty here will need more than just herself to move the damn thing. How's the rest of it working out?"

The figure nodded. "Yes… and the extras are working just fine, baring a real world test. Everything looks to spec."

Miang nodded, and rubbed her hands together. "Great. Very well. Send our girl after it once the next angel attacks. I will not leave it in the hands of that madman!"

The figure nodded. "Of course, Miang. I said I'd help, and I will. Now let me get back to work!"

Miang smiled sheepishly. "Right, right. Going."

---

Five months later Asuka changed out of her plug suit next to the 'Rei who wasn't Rei' pondering just what had gone wrong.

Certainly nothing on their end. This angel had seemed almost… pathetic compared to the last angel. Compared to something that was super fast, almost impossible to hit, and invaded your evangelion, an angel that was primarily a physical attacker, no matter how tough, was almost no challenge for their standard let Asuka go in with the pole-arm and let Rei snipe as best she can with the rifle.

The angel was down and destroyed, but something in Misato's face had tipped her off big time that something had gone horribly wrong in the fight.

She just wasn't sure what it was.

Asuka finished clasping the choker around her neck and walked out, Rei quickly coming up behind her as they made their way to the command center. Chu-Chu, having shown up again in the middle of the fight to heal some damage Asuka had taken, trundled up beside them, having come down on a launch catapult as well. Hikari was waiting for them in the command center. As much as Gendo hated relying on something he hadn't made for support, he currently needed all the help he could get.

As they entered, Asuka noted the air in the room seemed tense, as if the slightest thing could set off something catastrophic. A quick glance at his bastardness revealed that he was openly seething, something that easily explained the atmosphere of impending violence. "What… happened?"

Misato frowned, then looked at Gendo, who threw his hands in the air. "What the hell does it matter now?"

Misato sighed. "Lilith has been… misplaced."

Gendo erupted in fury. "Misplaced! Misplaced! Captain Katsuragi, a hundred foot rotting corpse in armor with a very large lance pinning it to the wall does not become MISPLACED!"

Asuka noted that Rei, who had walked up next to her, paled mightily., enough that it was actually visible on her. Asuka frowned. "So what's so special about Lilith?"

Gendo was muttering under his breath, so Dr. Akagi answered. "Lilith… in the hands of an angel, Lilith can be used to trigger third impact. It's what we've really been protecting all this time."

"And now it's gone." Asuka said this flatly.

Misato nodded. "I don't _think_ it's as bad as it seems. If an angel had made off with it, one, we'd all be dead, and two, they wouldn't have bothered to kill all the cameras and security along the path there. And distracted as we were by the battle, no one noticed it was missing until it was too late."

Asuka groaned, and Misato nodded. "Like I said, we're fairly sure the angels don't have it, but it's something we need to reclaim and protect at all costs."

Asuka groaned as a dozen things connected in her head. "Let me guess. Whoever has them likely has evas to guard it?"

Ritsuko smiled and Gendo glowered. "You _do_ catch on fast. Yes, we think so, but frankly, that means just about any terrorist or government could have it. But since you have training as pilots already…"

Asuka finished. "We're being asked to stay on even though this was the last angel, right? I _did_ graduate college. And my Japanese is much better now."

Ritsuko smirked. "Well, you act childishly enough that we tend to forget it most of the time."

Gendo interrupted. "_Both_ of you will cease this childish banter and get to work."

Ritsuko turned a cool gaze on him. "And just what are we supposed to do without more information? It's certainly not our department. I'm an expert hacker, but I can't start hacking people randomly. I wouldn't get anywhere."

Gendo, not having an argument, just growled and stalked out of the room.

---

Miang placed her hand on the glass as she watched the regeneration of 'Lilith' begin. She'd thought it was funny, actually.

It was a mistranslation. Someone had found some of the old texts and misinterpreted 'her giant's body' to 'her giant body'. It was all correct. Miang, the mother of humanity could indeed cause third impact under the right circumstances in conjunction with Deus. But her omnigear, Opiomorph, was hardly necessary.

Hearing clicking come up behind her, she saw the reflection in the glass.

"You did a good job."

"Thank you." The voice was feminine, but flat and cold.

Miang chuckled. "So cold? I thought you were over that."

The girl shrugged. "Perhaps, but it is still difficult to open up."

Miang nodded. "There are very few I let see who I really am as well. The rest are content with the façade."

The other girl looked back behind her. "Such as…?"

Miang understood. "No, I'm afraid. Not until recently. _She_-" Miang nodded back towards where the other girl had come from, "I had to awaken. I didn't let her behind my shell until I found out she was hiding behind a shell as well." Miang paused. "It's been a difficult road for her, managing her present in the face of her past. But I think she's finally starting to reconcile it." She eyed the girl next to her. "Partially thanks to you."

They were silent for a bit as the girl beside Miang contemplated this. "I think then, that I am fortunate not to have such a thing."

Miang smiled. "You're certain about that?" The girl started, but Miang shook her head, then cracked her back. "Oof. I think I may have been a bit hard on this body over the years." She grinned as she caught the other's look of skepticism. "Okay, so the body isn't _that_ old. You have to understand though, that I've inhabited this body since very nearly birth." She paused. "While it's certainly not this first time it's happened, having to wait for a body to mature is a rare experience for me. I tend to… 'experiment' a little early. Impatient, I guess."

It was the girl's turn to smirk. "I _have_ noticed that in you."

Miang chuckled and turned to go. "Remind Shion that we need to get up and running soon KOS-MOS. The contact won't be gone forever."

The female android nodded, and turned back to watch out the window.

---

May 29, 2018

A month later, Asuka walked into the apartment she still shared with Misato. Noting the elder woman had passed out on the couch, she walked into her room. As she began to get undressed and into fresh clothes, having spent the night before at Hikari's, she heard Misato stir on the couch, her customary wake up belch before the groan of hangover.

It was then she heard the voice.

It came from her bed.

It was male.

It said, "I know this ceiling…"

She reacted accordingly, given she was currently in her underwear, and there was an unidentified man in her bed. "PERVERT!"

Reacting quickly, she gathered the man with the long black hair into a headlock and began pummeling his face, listening with some satisfaction to the groans coming from his mouth.

Misato stuck her head in the door then. "Hey. I found Shinji last night. I dumped him in your bed after he passed out. Still can't hold his liquor. Excuse me."

Her door shut, and the door next to hers opened, and there was a retching sound. The man's hand reached vainly towards the door.

"Medic…" the voice croaked out weakly.

Asuka looked down at him. "Shinji!"

---

Shinji held an ice pack over the forming black eye as the three of them sat down on the chairs in front of the TV. Misato, years of experience having given her the ability to recover from hangovers quickly, smirked at her young friend.

"So, Shinji. Where've you been?"

---

Neverwhere: Chaos Mode – Shinji is finally back. And there was much rejoicing. Because we really don't feel like giving half hinted flashbacks (there's enough half hinted stuff in here already) and because it's already written that way, we now move onto section two of our story. What happened to Shinji while he was away.

Looks at ClassicCowboy And you! Get back to work!

C. Cowboy: ... looks up from his box of Lucky Charms Cereal and glances around nervously before going back to eating ...

Neverwhere: Chaos Mode – Sonuva… ah, the hell with it. See you in two weeks.


	7. Shinji Steps Out

Chapter 6 – Shinji Steps Out

Shinji made his way out of the apartment carefully. While Misato wouldn't be hard to sneak past, heavy drinking making her sleep like a log, Asuka might be a different story. Shinji didn't know, and wasn't taking any chances. _It's not like I've tried this before… well, with Asuka here anyways…_

All in all, his little subterfuge mission was a success. He didn't bring much, just a few changes of clothes and his money. He didn't leave a note, and felt slightly guilty about it. Still, he didn't think that it was wise to give his father (or Asuka for that matter) _anything_ to go on that might be used to find him and bring him back, no matter how much it would have soothed the concerns of his roommates, or how improbable it was that Gendo would _ever_ want him in an Evangelion again.

Shinji paused to have one last look around, fixing the space in his memory. He thought briefly about looking in on Asuka and Misato one last time, but in the end considered it too risky to his plan to leave to attempt. But, all of Shinji's planning couldn't take one thing into account. When he stepped into the hall outside the apartment and closed the door softly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Shinji whirled around ready to defend himself as best he knew how, and make a break for it, only to come face to face with Kensuke Aida. Shinji sighed in relief, and collapsed back slightly, leaning against the wall.

Kensuke grinned and readjusted his sack over his shoulder, and opened his mouth to speak. Shinji shook his head and gestured towards the door. Kensuke nodded and they didn't speak until they were in the elevator. "Thought you'd try something like this. Leaving, I mean."

Shinji nodded a little. "I'm a little surprised you're here. Why?"

Kensuke blinked, then smiled. "What do you mean? I'm going with you. Where are we going anyways?"

Shinji stopped for a moment. "Look, Kensuke… I appreciate this and all, but you don't have to come with me."

Kensuke shook his head. "Of course I do. Besides, what's left here for me, anyways?"

"School, maybe?"

Kensuke snorted as they reached the ground level and exited both elevator and building. "The same could be said for you. Face it Shinji, you're not going to be able to get rid of me. Toji'd be practically dragging you off if he were here."

The memory of their friend, and his fate tumbled through their minds, and they were silent for a moment in respect. Shinji opened his mouth to protest anyways, to say that Kensuke should stay anyways, but then closed it again. Truth be told, he wanted the company. He'd talked his way through more than one problem with Kensuke before, and, in the end, he knew he needed _something_ to hold onto. Kensuke saw his mouth close and nodded in approval. "Good. Now that that's settled, you didn't answer my question before. Where are we going?"

Shinji shook his head. "I'm not sure, really. I suppose I figured I'd be lucky to get past the front door without an alarm sounding."

Kensuke nodded slightly. "Well… how far away did you want to go?"

Shinji sighed. "Anywhere my father can't find me to drag me back."

"Well, I suppose we could just go to the train station-"

"ShinjiKim!"

Kensuke didn't get to finish his thought as Shinji was tackled from the side out of the alley they were walking past by a figure with long, flowing light green hair.

The girl (Kensuke could easily tell that Shinji's aggressor was female by the large bust and general figure) was not so much assaulting him as happily hugging him, while chattering excitedly. He couldn't quite make it all out, but numerous 'ShinjiKim's and other rushed things on people like 'Elly' and 'Billy' and 'Bart'.

What in the name of all that's great and good does he have that I don't! First Misato, then Mana, and then Asuka. And now random women on the street are groping him. 

The girl was now sitting up, straddling Shinji's waist, and still talking excitedly. Kensuke _still_ couldn't follow her, catching only things like 'Rico' and 'Citan'.

"Emeralda… stop that. You're confusing the boy."

She blushed, and stood then, if a little reluctantly. Shinji looked over from his position on the ground to see a man with slightly graying brown hair captured in a long braid approach.

"Sorry Dr. Citan."

He smiled indulgently.

"It's fine Emeralda. Just be careful not to damage him." He turned to address the two boys. "I apologize. Emeralda's a bit… excitable. She's been looking forward to meeting you two for quite some time."

Kensuke blinked, and responded, as Shinji seemed to still be attempting to catch his breath and ward of Emeralda's attempts to help him up. "Us?"

Citan nodded. "Yes, the two of you. If you'd be willing to come with us, there's a diner nearby where we can discuss this with a bit more comfort." Kensuke looked a little nervous and looked to Shinji for an answer. He didn't want to assume anything without Shinji's input. After all, it was Shinji's escape, and they didn't know the first thing about this guy.

Shinji was back on his feet now, and Emeralda had taken complete possession of one arm, resting her chin on his shoulder and gazing at him adoringly. Shinji looked distinctly uncomfortable, but nodded at Citan.

"Good. This way please."

Emeralda _did_ let go as they walked, and she now smiled and talked and virtually bounced around just in front of Shinji, who was looking bewildered. Kensuke could follow her a bit better now, and she seemed to be telling him all about her friends.

---

The four now sat around a booth in a diner. Citan and Kensuke sat on one side, mostly because Emeralda looked like she might start bawling if they tried to suggest she sit anywhere other than Shinji's side. Shinji was just grateful she hadn't insisted on sitting in his lap. She also wasn't burrowed into his side like Kensuke thought she would be, though. Actually, she was glaring at the menu with an odd sort of intensity. The waitress came around, and looked at them.

"What'll it be?"

"Hamburger."

"Cheeseburger."

"Pork Chops."

Emeralda stared at her menu for a moment longer when it came to her turn, then declared her choice defiantly, while jabbing her finger at it on the menu.

"Pizza!"

The lady smiled a little.

"Of course dear."

Citan smiled at the waitress as she left the table, then turned back to the two. "Just how much do you two know about the Evangelion program?"

Shinji and Kensuke stiffened. His personal opinion of his father not withstanding, Shinji still didn't feel comfortable with talking about this with a complete stranger. Citan blushed slightly.

"My apologies. I wasn't thinking. Well, let me say first that NERV, while being ultimately selected for the task, was not the only organization in the beginning to look into the problem of the 'angels'."

Citan seemed amused by the term, but didn't comment any further. "There was another organization, the one I am a part of, called Jet Alone."

Shinji's eyes narrowed. "I've heard of you. Your robot almost killed a friend of mine."

Citan nodded. "That particular machine was an experiment, and a failure at that. The robot was controlled from a remote site, by a competent crew of people. The robot was given commands, and it acted on them. But… somewhere in there, something went wrong. Usually our units have pilots, so you could consider it an equivalent to the dummy plug. We don't quite know what went wrong with the test, and there's no way knowing. Especially after you and the robot destroyed the facility in your battle, not that I'm blaming you. As to exactly what went wrong… let's just say I have my suspicions as to what happened, and leave it at that."

"But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. No, I'm talking about Jet Alone's purpose, now that NERV has the 'primary task'."

Shinji was slightly intrigued, in spite of himself. "What do you mean?"

Citan sighed. "Even with a man like your father in charge, Shinji, how long do you think it will take for Evangelion plans to make it to the black market?"

Kensuke's face went drawn. "Oh no…"

Citan nodded. "Imagine it. Every petty despot, every terrorist organization, all of them with Evangelions at their disposal. The next world war won't be fought with nuclear weapons, boys. Not when the risks are known, and not with the fact that every other country in existence will gang up on you if you tried. No, the next world war will be fought with Evas.

"And here's the worst news. Somehow, someway, the plans have _already_ been leaked. We've been able to keep all of it under wraps so far, eliminating the new Evas before or just after completion, but I doubt it will be long before the world at large starts hearing about it, or one of the new breed goes online and starts something before we hear of it.

"And that's where Jet Alone is now. We're building weaponry to take down Evangelions quickly and effectively. We're building stations all over the world to handle these sorts of crises as they come up. Emeralda doesn't look it, but she's one of our best pilots. You witnessed her work earlier against the angel that destroyed the 01.

"My particular piece of the organization is the elite. The best. We're a mobile response unit, to be sent into the worst of the situations out there, or to the relief of the standard Jet Alone units that are being overwhelmed.

Citan paused for a moment here, and addressed them both.

"And we want you to join us. Both of you. If you're interested, we can take the elevator in the back of the kitchen down to the dock, where a submarine is waiting for us."

Shinji and Kensuke just stared at each other as the waitress brought their orders.

---

The door made a slight 'hiss' as it opened, revealing the massive storage bay before them. Standing at the massive average of around eighty feet tall, the machines before them were slightly shorter than the Evangelions they were used to, but also slightly bulkier.

Citan walked out before them, moving towards a raised room, gesturing for the two younger men to follow. He stopped and turned around when he realized that they weren't following.

Kensuke had his mouth hanging open, and a noticeable line of drool was coming from his mouth. Citan smiled softly to himself, and wandered back towards where the boys… wait. Only one of them was standing there.

Citan glanced around a little nervously. Shinji didn't have any knowledge of gears, well other than his Eva training (which was almost compatible) just yet. So where was he…?

Oh.

_Damn._ Citan thought. _How far along is he…?_

Shinji was standing blankly in front of one of the hangar's bays, looking up at the big, black behemoth locked within. Standing at ninety-four feet, seven inches tall, it was the second tallest gear in the hangar (The tallest being the Seibzehn, which comes to the truly gigantic height of one-hundred-thirty-seven feet, six inches). The body was a deep blue-black; the only differing parts being the bright, eerie red markings in the joints. It was tall and broad shouldered, with a small, thick, fin across the head, and had two large fins on it's back, each with large holes about halfway down, reaching from about the middle of the fin, all the way to the end, cutting out vaguely rectangular shapes. Engine ports.

Citan smiled up at the gear, despite it's foreboding appearance, like an old friend. _Weltall…_

The gear, technically the Weltall-2, was a masterwork of construction built by Taura, back in the early days, from the wreckage of the first Weltall. Taura built the gear to be faster and stronger than most other gears, and it lived up to its hype. It was also built with a few other… special… features.

_But only time will tell,_ Citan thought,_ if Shinji can use them._

Citan knew what very few others in the complex did. That Shinji would be Weltall's next pilot.

"Dr. Uzuki?"

Citan jumped slightly, startled out of his thoughts. Kensuke Aida, apparently broken out of his fantasizing, stood next to him, while Shinji, broken of his trance as well, came closer.

"Yes Kensuke?"

"Um, you wanted to show us something?"

Citan adjusted his spectacles as Shinji nodded in confirmation of Kensuke's question.

"Well, I was going to show you boys the various statistics of the gears inside the hangar office over there. Much more convenient than walking around craning our necks."

"But much less exciting."

Citan laughed out loud at that.

"Well, you may come to view it differently in time, Kensuke. Besides, some of them aren't in dock right now. Let's go."

They once more ventured towards the hangar office, Shinji slightly troubled. Citan noticed, and slowed a bit.

"Something troubling you, Shinji?"

He looked a little uncomfortable.

"I know… I came here to pilot a gear for you. I'm not really sure why, I guess… I mean, when the 01 was destroyed, I felt relieved, no matter what anyone else said. I thought, 'Now I won't have to do this ever again.' And when we got on board, I was still feeling like I didn't know why I was here… but seeing… that… thing back there-"

"Weltall." Citan said softly. "That gear is called Weltall."

Shinji nodded, and continued. "When I saw… Weltall… I was always uncomfortable with the 01… something about it just… I don't know, just creeped me out. But this… Weltall… creeps me out too. But that's because it felt right. Almost _too_ right. Like it was made for me, and me alone… does that make any sense?"

Citan smiled. "More than you might think, Shinji."

Shinji nodded. "May I ask how…?"

Citan sighed. "Shinji… this may be more than I have the right to ask of you, but I'm going to anyways. I need you to trust me. It'll all make sense in time. That much I promise. You'll have to find the answers yourself, and you're free to talk with anyone here, or on the Kislev, about what you know, but you have to discover the information yourself. It's the best I can do for you without sounding like a raving lunatic."

"I don't see how that would matter, everyone I've ever known has been a lunatic in one way or another."

Citan and Kensuke both burst out laughing at that, and soon even Shinji was snickering a little. Citan calmed down and smiled at the both of them. "I promise you, both of you, that the answers will come. But just understand that it's all I can say right now. Now, let's get going on to the office."

---

As Citan led the boys out of the hangar, the intercom came on.

"Attention all personnel, opening forward hull for gear recovery."

Citan glanced up. Then nodded to the two boys. "Come on, you'll want to see this."

He led the two down near the end of the docks, when the ceiling moved, bracing itself. Then it opened outwards, exposing the sea to all sides. Strangely, the water stayed put, and didn't come rushing in to drown them. Citan explained without being prompted. "Force field. It stops the water, and repels fish, but it wouldn't stop anything else that wanted to come in, as you can see."

They could see. Entering the gear dock through the field were three gears. The first was humanoid, turquoise in color with two yellow rods sticking straight up off its head, carrying a katana as weaponry.

The second gear coming in was greenish brown and had treads mounted on its feet. It had what appeared to be a large rocket booster on it's back, and seemed to resemble a humanoid tank more than anything else.

The third gear coming in was a bright red, again humanoid model. This one was slightly odd looking with a patch over one eye and a silver blade like feather sticking straight up from the center of its forehead.

The gears moved towards their docks, and then were locked into place before a couple of arms shot out for mechanics to look for problems. On the turquoise gear, which the boys recognized as Heimdal from the records, the chest opened to reveal the cockpit, and out jumped a boy with gray hair and red eyes, wearing a white short-sleeved dress shirt, red undershirt, black slacks and tennis shoes. Citan smiled and waved him over.

"Boys, this is Kaworu Nagisa. He's piloting the Heimdal. I used to do it, but it seems that HQ wants people like me out of the field. Still, he's an able enough replacement."

Kaworu smiled. To Kensuke, it seemed like this was a common thing between them.

"Perhaps, Dr. Uzuki, but surely I cannot match your prowess within the machine."

Citan grinned. "Kaworu, this is Shinji, and that's Kensuke. We're showing them around. How did the mission go?"

Kaworu thought for a moment. "It was not difficult, but you should let Rico calm down a bit before debriefing. The new pilot was green, as expected, but got in Rico's way a few times, delaying the end of the conflict. He was most displeased."

Citan nodded. "Thank you Kaworu. I guess I'll delay their meeting with Rico a bit longer if he's in that state. See what you can do to get Emeralda to go see him. She's in the mess hall. He tends to calm down with her in the area."

Kaworu nodded, and turned to the two boys. "It was nice meeting the two of you."

He hurried off then, just as there was a commotion from the large green gear, Stier. The man who stormed right past them was a giant of a man, with green skin, orange hair and black eyes with yellow pupils. Citan grimaced.

"_That_ was Rico. He really doesn't like people who get in his way, especially on missions. He won't be the most pleasant person for the next few hours. Let's move on to Brigandier's pilot…"

Citan had a mysterious smile on his face as he said this, and the three maneuvered their way over to where the red gear was just opening up. The pilot jumped down, a clearly mechanical 'clank' coming from the left leg as he landed. The boy had a mechanical right arm as well. Wearing white slacks, tennis shoes, a black shirt and red jacket. His face sported an eye patch just like his gear's, and a face very familiar to the two boys. Shinji and Kensuke spoke at once.

"Toji!"

---

Nevewhere: Ah, memories. I think it's been about a year at least since I actually wrote this chapter, and the next five.

Okay, I need all you people who enjoy this thing to do something for me, and 'encourage' Classic to write the next chapter. And by 'encourage' I mean for you to get his e-mail off his author's profile and flame him until he does. Because once he does write the next chapter, these updates will be upped to once a week instead of once every two.


	8. Mana Comes Aboard

Chapter 7 – Mana Comes Aboard

"So anyways, the Doc faked my death so that Gendo couldn't track me down and demand my return."

The three stooges, as Asuka often referred to them, were now sitting in the lounge area of the Yggdrasil's gunroom, talking around one of the tables. Shinji once more tried to offer his apologies. "Toji… look…"

Toji sighed. "Shinji, get this through your head, okay? It was _not_ your fault. It was your damn father's fault. Now lighten up."

He sighed. "I still feel bad about it"

"ShinjiKim!"

Shinji's eyes widened at the voice, and he started to stand, but was tackled from behind by the green haired girl, sending him sprawling across the table, which was crushed under their combined weight. Toji's eyes widened as Emeralda appeared to be snuggling into his back.

"_Damn._"

Kensuke looked confused. "She's not usually like this?"

Toji kept staring, but answered. "Well, she's friendly and all, and can't come up with the right words sometimes, but she's not usually this… um…"

"Affectionate?"

"Yeah, that's the word. How the hell does he get them to do it?"

"I was just thinking that earlier…"

Emeralda straightened a little, coming up so that she was sitting on Shinji and the remains of the table. She looked at Toji.

"TojiBart, can I have… have… drink?"

He nodded slowly, and went over to the bar area, Kensuke following as he got a little wierded out by Emeralda nuzzling the now unconscious Shinji. "So, um, why's she call you that?"

Toji shrugged, then knelt to get water out of the mini-fridge. "I'm not too clear on that really. Citan says it's one of those things I'll figure out eventually."

A groaning Shinji took a seat at the bar then, followed by a still brightly smiling Emeralda, who sat right next to him. She smiled at Kensuke. "Ken… Kens… Kensu… KenBilly, Dr. Citan wants to talk to you!"

Kensuke found Citan still in the hanger, this time supervising the tune up of a much smaller white gear. He turned from the small packet of paper he held and smiled at the boy's approach. "Ah, Kensuke, glad to see you answered the summons."

Kensuke glanced back in the direction of the gunroom. "Well, Emeralda's kinda hard to ignore…"

Citan gave a tight grin. "That she is. Did your reunion with Toji go well?"

"Yes, sir. Thank you sir."

Citan chuckled. "I may actually hold rank over you, but you don't need to call me 'sir'. I know my own name well enough."

"If I may ask, just what _is_ your rank?"

Citan smiled. "Ah. I'm Brigadier General Citan Uzuki, Second Lieutenant Kensuke Aida."

Kensuke blinked. "Um, do I really rate that highly?"

Citan glanced down at his paperwork. "Yes. Second Lieutenant is the minimum rank to be a pilot on the Yggdrasil. Minimum piloting rank at any of our other facilities is Sergeant."

"Wow…"

Citan handed the papers to one of the mechanics servicing the forty-foot gear. "But, as interesting as this is, it's not what I called you down here for."

Kensuke blushed. "Right. Sorry."

Citan started moving back towards the door. "Not a problem. I was a little busy when you caught me anyways. Come along."

Kensuke nodded and hurried after. Citan turned and entered a small storage room. Picking up a manual, he handed it to Kensuke, whose eyes widened with glee.

"Come on, we're not done yet, bring it with you."

Kensuke nodded and hurried after, but needn't have bothered as they were only going across the hall. Citan knocked. "Rico, open up."

Rico, the green skinned giant from before, opened the door. "Yeah? What?"

Citan smiled, a failing attempt to calm Rico down. "I need you to go through the armament book with Kensuke here. Remember what we discussed earlier."

Rico nodded reluctantly, turned to Kensuke, still moderately pissed off from what the otaku could see. "Get in."

Kensuke looked at Citan for reassurance, who just grinned at him. Kensuke shuffled his feet a little, and then walked inside. Rico's room was moderately neat, and Rico motioned for Kensuke to sit on the chair. The not so jolly green giant lay back on his bed. "Okay. That's a gun catalogue. Pick a main gun an a couple of back ups. Read off the ones you think you _might_ want to me, so I can say yes or no to them."

Kensuke nodded, and began eagerly flipping through. He stopped after a moment, and looked over at Rico, who glared back. "Um… can I ask why we're doing this? Not that I don't like it, but…"

Rico nodded. "The gears are thought controlled. Because the gears are mechanical though, there's no need for that LCL crap. But because the gears are still thought operated, you need to get training in your gear's main weaponry so that you won't stand there like an idiot when the time comes to use it."

Kensuke nodded. "It makes sense, but I wonder why Gendo didn't put Shinji through any of this stuff…?"

Rico snorted. "That assumes that the bastard _wanted_ F… Shinji to win."

Kensuke blinked. "What do you mean?"

Rico hesitated, and Kensuke was pretty sure that this was a rare sight. "I… I think I'll let the Doc fill you in on that one. Back to the weapons, boy."

Kensuke nodded, then stopped. Rico groaned. "What now?"

Kensuke blushed. "Um, I was just wondering, if you know that is, which one's my gear?"

Rico sat up slightly and looked over at him. "You mean they didn't tell you? You're in the Renmazou. Its main weapons are its guns. Now choose already."

Kensuke grinned and nodded. In the end, the selection process didn't take that long. It was just that Rico had to firmly remind Kensuke several times to drool over the pictures on his own time. In the end, Kensuke selected a pair of Berretta-92Fs, with an 'Equilibrium' modification. Semi-automatic, three round burst. Of course this also meant that he'd go through clips fairly fast.

For a larger (main) weapon, Kensuke, after much begging and pleading, was permitted to select the M-29 OICW. The OICW (Objective Individual Combat Weapon) was an interesting device. It was an assault rifle with two barrels, one on top of the other, each with individual purposes. Its standard shot was from the bottom barrel, where a 5.56 MM kinetic round shot, not unlike that of an M-16, fired. It could be set for single or two shot bursts, with a thirty round clip. The top barrel was a 20 MM 'cannon'. It had a six-shot clip, but these shots could range from standard armor piercing ammunition, to high explosives and gas shots (with explosion timers no less). Built onto the top was a range finder scope with optional laser sighting. On the side of the scope was the panel for controlling the detonation of the 20 MM ammo.

Kensuke had always liked military hardware, and now he was surrounded by it. Rico got a sinking feeling, and reminded himself to never allow Kensuke any form of caffeine, shuddering at the mere thought of a hyped up otaku gun maniac.

---

He stumbled.

He stumbled, not because he tripped, but because he was exhausted. He was exhausted not because he had been running, in fact he had been plodding for some time now, but because the heat was baking the moisture right out of his body.

He was in a desert, he could tell that much. And he had to get out in order to survive. He knew that much as well. He was a young boy, but physically fit. He simply could not understand why he kept getting so tired under the sun of the desert.

But he did, and because he did, he stumbled, and because he stumbled, he fell, coming to rest in a vaguely sitting position. He began to cry, sniffling as he sat. Then, off to his right, a line of figures began to pass.

"Wait! Don't leave me here…!"

He was up in an instant, chasing them, shouting to them, and begging them not to leave him. But no matter how fast he ran, the figures eluded him, and either did not hear, or did not care about his cries for help. He fell back again, and began crying in earnest.

It was then that he heard it. The voice was smooth, calm and comforting. He turned to see a woman, face shrouded in shadow reaching out to him.

"You must be lonely here all by yourself…"

As he reached for her hand, the cross hanging from her neck glittered…

---

And Shinji Ikari woke then, woke like he woke every morning, and put the strange dream behind him, going through his morning ritual quickly and rushed through the halls to his lesson with Dr. Uzuki.

This was his fifth month on board the Kislev. The Kislev itself was a massive battle cruiser that currently sat on the ocean floor. It, like the Yggdrasil, Shinji had learned, _was_ flight capable, but this section of Jet Alone was above top secret (at least at present, with time, who knew?), and so they preferred that she remain mostly stationary under a sea shelf near the bottom of an underwater cavern.

Shinji and the others, Rico and Emeralda included, since the Doctor firmly believed that everyone deserved an education, took classes approximating to those of high school. Of course, the subject matter was more focused on things that could help them in missions, but the result was the same. School.

Not that Shinji had ever believed he would escape it entirely. Dr. Uzuki, with some assistance from a few others on board, taught most of the classes. This was private work on board the Kislev, meant not only to educate them, but to tighten their trust and teamwork with each other as well.

Shinji also had private lessons with Dr. Uzuki, who was teaching him martial arts. When asked why the Weltall couldn't be armed, Doc, as he was now calling him, simply smiled, shrugged, and said that when Shinji was properly trained, a weapon would only slow him down. Somehow, Shinji couldn't bring himself to doubt this, as he felt the power growing inside him, and now he was beginning to pull off things that Citan _hadn't_ shown him, merely on instinct. Doc only gave one of his mysterious smiles whenever this happened.

Suddenly shaken from his thoughts, Shinji looked around cautiously. Something had happened. Shinji didn't know what it was, but something happened.

At first the only thing he could hear was his heartbeat. It grew in intensity, throbbing in his ears.

_Thump-Thump_

"Get out!"

He couldn't quite place the voice. It was far too soft.

_Thump-Thump_

"Get out of my head!"

The voice was louder now, and it was tickling on the edge of his mind.

_Thump-Thump_

"Ahhh! It's… IT'S RAPING MY MIND!

This time, the shout echoed through his mind with surprising force. And the name attached to the voice finally hit him.

_Thump-Thump_

"Shinji… please… help…"

It was Asuka.

_Thump-Thump_

_Asukaaaa! _With that final thought, that last desperate, primal urge to defend her, Shinji lost all consciousness.

---

Even two months later, Kensuke still found himself dwelling on Shinji's collapse. The first clue that something had gone wrong was the aide that had come in hurriedly and held a whispered conversation with Dr. Uzuki for a short period. The Doctor gave her some whispered instructions back, and she nodded and left.

_Which was followed immediately by Dr. Uzuki calmly informing us that Shinji would most likely not show up for lessons that day. And perhaps for a few days afterwards._

And that had been all that was said. By the time we got out of class, Shinji was laying in an infirmary bed, saying he'd been on his way to class, when something happened. Then he blanked out and the next thing he knew, he was in the hospital ward.

"Kensuke!"

Kensuke looked up, and promptly started blushing and stammering. He'd just zoned out when Rico was giving him his marching orders. He looked up hopefully. Rico, knowing full well that Kensuke had been zoning, just motioned to the VR Simulator.

Kensuke grimaced. By zoning right then, he had missed out on possibly critical information, like troop formation, distances, and the like. This was something of an exam for him. Kensuke had only one thought about this.

_This will not go well._

---

Mana Kirishima was absolutely certain she would never live this down. She glanced down at the letter she still carried around in disbelief for confirmation.

Second Lieutenant Mana Kirishima 

_With your recent promotion, and outstanding track record, baring a few slight incidents, coupled with the personal recommendation of General Uzuki and your present commanding officer, you are hereby assigned to the Jet Alone Special Forces cruiser Yggdrasil, under the direct command of Captain Ricardo Banderas._

_Congratulations,_

Jet Alone High Command  
And now, not ten minutes onto the Kislev, the Yggdrasil's main underwater port, she was hopelessly lost. The pilot of the Haishao, which had brought her here, had given her directions to where her commanding officer could be found, but somewhere along the way she'd made a wrong turn, and now she couldn't find her way back, as if the way she'd come in had simply vanished. 

She got about three more steps before something was thrown to the ground in front of her. She recognized it, and tried to shield her eyes, but it was too late. The flash-bang went off in front of her, temporarily blinding her. She blinked rapidly to restore her sight, only to find that she was surrounded by people with uniforms she didn't recognize. _Are the Yggdrasil's uniforms _that_ different? And what are they planning to do with me?_

Suddenly, a young man with dirty blonde hair in a black leather duster whipped around the corner and opened fire with two handguns, neatly slicing through the guards and narrowly missing her in the process. Mana squealed, dropped her duffel, and crouched instinctively, letting the bullets pass overhead. Still, some of the blood splattered on her face. The bodies dropped all around her, and she backed away, crab walking backwards.

Mana relaxed slightly, when, after a moment's hesitation scrutinizing her, the young man put his guns back in their holsters hidden behind his waist under the duster. She tried to wipe the blood off her face, but only succeeded in smearing it. He held out his hand, and smiled. "Come on, I need to get you out of here."

Mana nodded and accepted the hand gratefully (grabbing her bag as she rose), not fully understanding, but deciding to go along with it for now. She wasn't sure what was going on here, but since the man with the guns had decided not to kill her like the others, she didn't want to give him a reason to. She opened her mouth to say something, but the young man, he seemed to be around her age, held a finger to his lips, indicating a need for silence. She nodded.

Kensuke, not wearing his glasses for the contacts that worked better in VR as well as true tactical situations, failed to recognize Mana with the blood smeared on her face. Before this, he had assumed this was pretty much 'kill everything without getting yourself killed in the process'. Pretty straight forward, and he'd found nothing before now to dispute that. He now could only assume Rico had for some reason made this one a rescue op. He figured that he should probably get her to the exit, the 'safe zone'. _Surely that's what's expected of me here…_

Kensuke got back to the 'start' with minimal difficulty. There had been the problem with the enemy tank, but it was relatively small and probably remote controlled, so he hadn't had a problem with launching a high explosive round off of his OICW into it, reducing it to cinders from it's own ammo blowing. He led his charge out, failing to notice several key factors as he did so.

"You failed." Kensuke stared blankly as Rico, not understanding.

_Where there _more_ people I had to get out? Perhaps one of them was killed before I got there?_ There, those were acceptable reasons for failure in his mind. Unfortunately, he'd missed a small tidbit called the 'Mission Objective' when he'd zoned during the briefing.

"What part of 'eliminate all enemy units' did you not understand Kensuke?"

Mana was now looking at the brown haired young man next to her in something close to astonishment.

"Kensuke?"

Kensuke now realized what he'd missed upon exiting the chamber. His 'hostage' had not disappeared with the rest of the VR stuff. His response was eloquent.

"Uhhh…"

Rico stormed into the room from the control booth, fully intent on berating Kensuke, and stopped, dumbfounded, at the sight of the now clean of virtual blood young lady. Kensuke finally recognizing her, had yet another eloquent thing to say.

"Baaaa…"

Rico shot him a glare. They hadn't noticed another living person in the room. It was a mistake really. They monitored the virtual life forms through their entries in the data banks, and Kensuke through his transmitter. Rico smacked his forehead as he realized they hadn't picked up on the girl simply because she wasn't wired. They'd have to work on that_. But then, most people don't go wandering into the VR chamber when it's active. They know better._

Rico turned his attention fully to the girl in the standard Jet Alone pilot uniform, ignoring the astonished and stunned Kensuke. "Who are you!"

The girl straightened. "Second Lieutenant Mana Kirismia, sir."

Rico nodded, recognizing the name of the newest person he'd have to train. She'd have been brought in earlier, but Citan had wanted things to settle down before adding her. Especially after _he_ appeared. He pieced together the most likely happening almost immediately. She'd gotten lost and almost gotten herself killed. He nodded. "I'm Captain Ricardo Banderas, Lieutenant. Call me Rico. Get this blabbering fool to show you to your quarters, and change into something else. We're fairly informal here. After you're done, have him show you to the gear dock. The Doc and I will be waiting."

Then Rico stalked out the door, determined to find out who had let her wander around on her own on her first trip here, and proceed to explain to them, with his fists, just why that sort of thing shouldn't be done.

---

Neverwhere Chaos Mode: I finally got a new monitor, only to have my operating system crap out on me. My life sucks. Still, these chapters are stored in my jump drive, so regular updates as always. Go me.

And someone tell ClassicCowboy to get off his lazy butt and write another chapter of this so I don't have to keep remembering which fridays to post on. Lazy ass.


	9. The Doctor's Motive

Chapter 8 – The Doctor's Motive

"HA!"

Toji ducked and rolled out of the way as the blur that was his opponent rocketed past with a strong punch. He shot out his right, mechanical arm, extending the whip hidden in the back of the palm. His opponent ducked himself, but Toji was ready. His right arm came out, launching the leather whip, which caught one of the man's legs, and he tugged hard, sending his opponent sprawling.

His enjoyment was short lived, however, as the man was up in the next moment, charging him. Toji started flicking his whips, starting with the mechanical one, but his opponent dodged. Toji frowned and tried to think faster. This was a situation he knew well. _If I can just anticipate which direction he's going to attack from…_

He saw the man go left, and knew it was a fake. He spun right and behind, following the movements perfectly, coming to face his opponent with a grin on his face…

Only to find he wasn't there.

"HA!"

Toji looked up, and in his shocked surprise, seeing only a blue ball of energy raining down from above hit him full in the face, sending him back. He swore under his breath and accepted the hand up, knowing he'd lost this round. He held his head in one hand as he stood.

"Man Shinji, you have to use the damned chi bolt? It's only training, you know? It's why I use the leather whips, not the ones with the metal edges."

Shinji smiled a little, and paused by the door, waiting as Toji placed his practice whip back and changed the cartridge whip in his right arm.

Toji paused to examine his friend. Caught by some unknown fancy, Shinji was letting his hair grow, forming a pony tail in back, a single thick strand hanging down in front. His training was paying off, and he developed a lean, muscular frame. It wasn't honestly a lot up bulk up, unless you'd seen him beforehand, in which case it was very noticeable.

They wandered into the mess hall, only to find their third friend, Kensuke, sitting at a table alone, repeatedly banging his head against it. His back was to them, and they could easily see the yellow outline of an elaborate cross embroidered into the duster. Toji used his mechanical hand to stop Kensuke from beating his head against the table any more. Shinji took a seat next to him. "Alright, what happened? You fail or something?"

Kensuke snorted as Toji slid into the other seat. "I wish that was _all_ that had happened. I also made a fool of myself in front of our newest member."

Toji grinned. "Yeah, I heard someone else was coming aboard to pilot the big tub. I _also_ heard it was a she. So, she a fox? Is that why you're beating yourself up over this?"

Kensuke blushed. He glanced at Shinji a moment, unsure of how to answer this one. "Well, I, uh…"

Fortunately, he was saved by the intercom. "Lieutenant Ikari, please report to the Kislev gear dock. Repeat…"

Shinji was up in a flash, giving a quick goodbye in leaving, presumably moving as ordered, towards the Kislev's gear dock. When he got there, he glanced around, looking for someone who could tell him why he was here. He spotted Rico and Doc and a third person he couldn't make out over the in distance by the 'big tub' as Toji had termed it, the Seibzehn.

He started walking over, moving quickly through the crowd of mechanics, making his way to the Doc. He saw the third person move away from them, and then he lost her in the crowd he was in.

Until she slammed right into him, sending them both to the ground. His eyes widened. It'd been almost a year since he'd seen her. "M-Mana!"

The girl above him looked down, then started grinning broadly. "Shinji!"

They got to their feet, smiling at each other. "So you're the new pilot Mana?"

She nodded. "Yeah. And piloting the big lug is going to be interesting. According to General Uzuki, its control system is fundamentally different from the other gears. You tell it what to do, instead of it just moving it with your thoughts."

"Ikari! Get over here!"

Shinji nodded to Rico. "Sorry Mana, duty calls. Talk to you later."

She nodded and he sprinted through mechanics, jumping toolboxes as he made his way over. Mana giggled a little, then proceeded out of the dock.

---

Shinji sighed and placed his brush down. Kaworu looked up from where he was reading on a nearby couch. "You seem upset Shinji. Is there something I can do?"

Every pilot had a two-room suite. One was a bedroom, and the other was for personal use. While Kensuke was busy filling his with every ballistic weapon known to man, and Toji's was the ultimate bachelor pad, Shinji had turned his into an art studio. Kaworu was resting on the couch that Shinji had placed on the off chance he'd ever have a model, the two boys just enjoying each other's company.

Kaworu was a comfort to Shinji in a way that Toji and Kensuke couldn't be. Kaworu seemed eternally calm, and didn't judge or put pressure on him, allowing him someone to vent on when he needed it, without taking offense. He collapsed back on the couch next to him, and sighed again. "It's Mana."

Kaworu closed his book and nodded. He'd expected as much. "Has she been pressing you?"

Shinji shook his head. "No, it's just, there's this tension between us. I'm not sure what to do about it. She's been here a week now, and I still stammer and look away when she talks to me. Hell, Kensuke's better with her than I am, and he nearly killed her when she first came onboard."

Kaworu tapped the cover of the book gently as he thought. "Hmm. Well, given your relationship at the time you were last together, the source of such tension is obvious. Less obvious is the solution."

Shinji nodded. What Kaworu said had been obvious in and of itself, but sometimes stating the problem helped with the solution. The gears turned slowly in Shinji's head, and he finally came up with a feasible solution. "Well, I suppose the only thing I can do at this point is be a man about it, and ask her out. It's going to be really hard though."

Kaworu nodded, and glanced around. He'd seen a second reason for Shinji's awkwardness with Mana, but thought it best to keep it to himself.

Scattered around the room, in between landscapes and other portraits, were, in various sizes, and in various stages of completion (though none were completely finished), about thirty portraits.

All of them portraits of Asuka.

---

Mana shrugged at Rico's questioning. Since her gear would do it's own targeting and she'd only be giving commands, she was left with her choice of weaponry.

"Hmm. Just a small side-arm I guess. I doubt that any weapon I choose would be of much use against an Eva if Seibzehn couldn't handle it."

Rico nodded. "Great. I'll mark you down for Berretta-92F. You want a modification on it?"

Mana shook her head. "No. I doubt I'll be using it much."

Rico nodded, then filled out a slip. "Take that to the quartermaster and he'll grab one for you. He should have at least one in there. Talk to Kensuke. Tell him that given the circumstances of your intrusion, he passed the test, and he's now to spend _his_ time making sure you can aim your weapon properly, and stop wasting mine. We clear?"

Mana nodded. "Crystal, sir."

Rico growled lightly. "That's Rico to you miss."

She blushed and nodded, and hurried out the door.

---

_To you, Yui, whom Gendo and I fight our eternal war over._

"Doc?"

Citan Uzuki looked up to see Shinji in the doorway, now looking the spitting image of his predecessor, if a bit paler. _Some shore leave should clear that up though._

"Doc?"

Citan blushed. "Sorry Shinji, I was just thinking something."

Shinji nodded, and shuffled nervously. "Um, I was wondering… what are your thoughts on…"

Citan smiled slightly, leaning back in his chair. "Mana, you mean?"

Shinji looked down at his feet. "Yes, um, well…"

Citan sighed. _This is not going how I anticipated, but of course little ever does._ "I know about your relationship with her prior to your coming here Shinji. And there are no standing policies about relationships between coworkers, as long as it doesn't get in the way of your duties."

Shinji heaved a minor sigh of relief. _One concern down, one to go…_ He glanced around the room a little, and his eyes widened upon falling on a photograph.

Of the Doc and Shinji's mother, Yui.

"Uh…"

Citan followed his gaze, then sighed. "Sit down Shinji." Shinji sat, and the older man poured himself a drink before speaking. "When I was a much younger man, my name was Hyuga Ricdeau. It wasn't Citan until just before I started the Jet Alone project."

Shinji frowned. "_Started_ the project? I thought you were just head of the Yggdrasil."

Citan nodded, still staring at the frame. "I started the project, and was the head of it all then, but I've since demoted myself to where I am now. With the influence of my former position, I'm able to waive all sorts of rules and things, enabling me to select my own pilots from pretty much anywhere, and most of the people above me are people who trust me pretty much completely.

"But this has nothing to do with my change of name." Citan's eyes glistened slightly with tears and filled his glass again as he continued. "When I was young, still an aspiring student at the university, I met your mother. Of course your father was there too Shinji, and he and I were rivals. We were rivals in just about everything. You name the subject and we each strove to outdo the other, coming up with radically advanced ideas. But our most fierce competition was your mother.

"I'm certain you understand this already, Shinji, but your father was, and is, a very manipulative man." Citan glanced over, and saw Shinji smile slightly. "But he was also an obsessive man. He didn't let it hinder him, and instead used it to strengthen himself, to hone the cunning edge of his mind into manipulating things so that he always got what he wanted.

"And he wanted your mother."

Citan paused here, thinking back, a sarcastic grin on his face. "I was home one weekend, and this was where your father found his chance to strike. A bomb."

Shinji's eyes widened. "What!"

Citan nodded, tossing back the rest of his third glass. "Oh, he didn't do it himself, but a few quiet prods and bribes to a small terrorist faction and suddenly there's a bomb in my parent's mailbox. I'd come to suspect he'd try something by this time… but this went beyond what I'd thought him capable of.

"I don't remember a lot of what happened after that, but my next truly coherent memory was several years later, waking up in a hospital bed. As best I can figure out, I managed to wander away from the scene a complete amnesiac until I passed out a few towns over and was kept in a coma ward for several years.

"When I woke up, I still didn't remember a whole lot, but that's when I met Emeralda, and she named me Citan Uzuki. I was confused then, but I know why now. Hyuga Ricdeau was no more, died in the blast, and Citan Uzuki was taking his place. By the time I did remember your mother, you were just being born.

Shinji grimaced. "Father…"

Citan nodded. "It was about this time, the time that I remembered, started looking for, and found, the evidence that pointed to Gendo being behind the blast. It's not anything that would stand up in court, but it fits too well to be anything else."

Shinji, having seen his father's manipulative side far too often for his liking himself, nodded slowly. Citan took a drink and continued. "I couldn't exactly go accusing your father, but with the reclaimed Ricdeau family fortune at my back I was able to found Jet Alone as a rival to your father's Evangelion project.

"One thing I don't fault your father on is his love for Yui. That was honest, perhaps the only honest thing about him. I don't honestly believe that he meant for it to happen, but your mother was killed in an accident in Evangelion 01's construction. I'm not sure what he was thinking even letting her in there during the construction, but it happened and she died. And now…"

Shinji, morbidly interested, and more than a little sickened by this, motioned for Citan, who was by this time a little drunk, to continue.

"Do you know Shinji? Do you know the sick and twisted truth behind the Evangelions? Our gears have little boxes in them that identify brainwaves, and only certain brainwaves will run each machine, it's why you were selected for it. The Evangelions have a similar pilot selection process, but with one key difference. The Evangelion is organic. The pilot is not compatible with some brain-wave translation box, the pilot is compatible with the _soul_ trapped within the beast. Most often the soul of one of the pilot's relatives…"

Shinji's eyes widened. _…Mother…_

Citan, drunk and crying, continued, the words flowing. "And he _still_ wants her, Shinji. He still wants her. He _wants_ instrumentality, so that he can be with her again. He wants it. He's willing to kill every living thing on earth to have her back."

Citan looked up at Shinji then, eyes red, but surprisingly coherent. "And we, Shinji, we, will stop him. When the moment is right, when the pieces are all in place, _we_ will stop him. He is willing to kill for her, Shinji, he is, willing to kill the world. Be we, my old friend, shall go once more into the breach, and preserve all life in her name."

---

Shinji sat quietly in his room, with the lights off, only the soft glow from the cracks in the door illuminating the room. _What Doc said was disturbing, but still, it's not all that far fetched. My father, no, _Gendo_, is a manipulative bastard._

He sighed, and leaned back, resting against the wall. He stared at the bed, but didn't go to it. His dreams had been rather… odd of late. There was a knock at the door. He paused for a moment, hesitating.

"Shinji, are you in here?"

It was Mana.

"Come in."

Mana entered, surprised to find him next to the door. "Shinji, what are you doing down there?"

"Thinking…"

Mana closed the door and crossed over, sitting down next to him. "Okay Shinji, what's wrong?"

He snorted. "What _isn't_ wrong?"

Mana smiled. "It can't be _that_ bad. Tell me about it."

"My father is attempting to drown the world in blood because for some insane reason he believes it will bring my mother back."

There was an awkward silence as Mana contemplated that little pearl of wisdom.

"Shinji? Hon? Please tell me that was a joke."

Shinji let out a short, harsh, sarcastic laugh that sounded more like a bark than anything else. "Nope. Afraid not."

Mana gulped. "Well, maybe you heard wrong. Who told you this?"

"The Doc."

Mana's eyes slid closed. "Um, okay… well, since we know, we can stop him right?"

"That's what the Doc said, but he was pretty damn drunk at the time."

Mana opened her eyes and looked over at him. "He got drunk while you were talking about this?"

Shinji shook his head. "No, he got drunk when telling me that my father tried to murder him to get my mom to like him, whose soul was trapped in Unit 01 when it was destroyed."

Mana tried to find a bright side. She really did. She tried to start a thousand sentences to cheer him up, but all that happened was her mouth opening and closing a lot.

"Yeah, that was about my reaction. I left a little afterwards."

Mana smiled weakly. "Um, it could be worse, I suppose…"

"How?"

"Well, we might not be here, together again…"

Shinji smiled at her. "Yeah…"

Mana smiled and wrapped her arm over his shoulder. And they sat there for a long, long, time; the silence comfortable.

---

Shinji knocked quietly on the door to the Doc's office.

"Enter."

Citan looked up and smiled as Shinji entered. "Ah, right on time. Sit down."

Shinji looked around a little nervously. "May I ask what this is about, sir?"

"Ah yes. Give me your Second Lieutenant's pin Shinji, you no longer deserve it."

Shinji choked, but handed it over, eyes wide. While no standard uniform was required, everyone was required to wear their badge of rank clearly on their clothing. Citan smiled, and then placed the pin in a drawer, from which he fished a small box. He tossed it to Shinji. "Your skill far exceeds the requirements. Congratulations First Lieutenant."

Shinji gaped, and looked in the box. Where he had once worn a single bar of gold, he now wore one of silver, the insignia of First Lieutenant. Citan smiled at the speechless boy.

"Now, on to your new responsibilities. As First Lieutenant, you are our second highest field officer, right under Rico."

"Others have been with you longer sir."

Citan nodded. "I'm aware, but Emeralda lacks leadership abilities, much less easily understandable speech, Toji lacks the proper maturity, not that he has much time on you in any event, and Kaworu… well, let's just say that Kaworu will understand."

Shinji nodded, and Citan continued. "As First Lieutenant, you are being given command of two other pilots. Toji and Kensuke. Now that we have Miss Kirismia here, we can finally get up to where we're supposed to be. Rico's group will target installations for the most part, with Stier and Seibzehn as the wrecking crew and Heimdal and Crescens running interference.

"Your team is a strike force. Your primary focus on most missions will be units already in place on battlefields."

Citan looked him straight in the eye. "This will not be easy. Rico will often have the element of surprise. You will not. You will be launched directly into the hot zones.

"Your training is over. Schooling will persist, but you are all now fully trained pilots. Good luck, Lieutenant."

Shinji nodded. "Yes, sir." He almost left, but then remembered something. "Doc?"

Citan looked up again. "Yes?"

Shinji blushed. "Um, when is the next time for shore leave, and…"

Citan nodded and picked up the thought. "Who's with you? All of our forces are going on shore leave in five days, but keep in mind locations are limited so that we can launch with little to no warning."

Shinji smiled. "Thanks."

Citan smiled, and there was a slightly haunted note to it. "I was young once too Shinji."

---

Neverwhere: Chaos Mode - Okay. Well, I think my computer might be in its final death throes at the moment, which supremely sucks, as I don't have the money for a new one, or to replace even the hard drive. Oh well, glad I took the hint when the monitor died and moved all this stuff onto my jump drive and palm pilot. So with only a palm pilot, don't expect much writing from me... but Classic's supposed to do the next chapter, and we've still got three already written ones.

And remember, when Classic gets off his ass and writes the next chapter, then I can move these to once a week instead of once every two. Bye now.


	10. Ground Zero

Chapter 9 – Ground Zero

Shinji smiled lightly as the engines roared one last time as he came in for landing. Weltall was nothing like the old Evangelion. His thoughts on it, now that he knew more, were mixed. On one hand, it was his mother's soul inside, and he felt bad that the 01 had been destroyed. But he felt that she was better off, wherever she was now, and that was a comforting thought.

Unit 01 had rebelled against him so many times, and no wonder with how she was trapped in there, but Weltall moved without hesitation, like a second skin, completely conforming to his will. It was a good feeling. Once he was in, there was no way for an outside force to control his actions. He was trusted to make sure he did the right thing, and that alone made him feel better about being there.

Landing adroitly on his feet, Shinji paused and waited for Kensuke and Toji to catch up. Brigandier and Renmazou landing smoothly beside and a bit behind him, he motioned for his team to move out.

Shinji was more than a little nervous. _I'm pretty sure it's natural. It's my first time in command…_ Before now, he'd always gone in with Rico giving the orders.

They paused at the top of a rise, and for a moment, watched the Chaos below, trying to make some sense of it, to know where to begin. He heard Toji swear over the com link.

"What's up?"

Brigandier just pointed. Kensuke started swearing too, and Shinji was tempted to join them. Over the ridge were two groups duking it out, yes, but with them was a larger carrier.

"Rico should have gotten this job." Kensuke fumed.

Shinji shook his head. "Well, his group is busy with that situation in China. All right, you guys know the drill. Try to target the umbilical cords and take the pilots alive so the UN ground troops can do mop up. Switch frequency to battle scramble and let's go."

They jumped over the ridge and went charging in. "What about the carrier, Fei?" That was Toji, referring to Shinji by his designated call sign as instructed.

"The carrier is a mobile power supply, and that's about it. When the Evas are down, we call for surrender."

"And if they say no?"

"This is a battlefield, Bart. What do you think?"

As soon as their presence was detected, a few units on each side started spraying bullets in their direction. Kensuke 'Billy' Aida stopped forward motion and moved sideways, laying suppressing fire as he went. Weltall and Brigandier rushed onwards, trying to stay out of the bullet's paths. Weltall jumped suddenly, activating its thrusters to extend the leap, coming down behind the first Evangelion, and kept running.

The Evangelion turned slightly; exposing it's back to Brigandier, who launched his whips, using them to rip the umbilical cord to shreds before it could put any slugs in Weltall's back. The majority of the models they'd been facing were completely dependent on the umbilical cords, the internal power supplies costing too much with too little effect to be worth it to most organizations. Still, they were careful to make sure that the Eva no longer registered an energy signature before ignoring it completely.

Weltall's fist rocketed into the side of one Evangelion's head, smashing it into the one beside it. He didn't have time to rip out the cords, though, as his position was covered in rifle fire from three other Evas. They didn't get too many shots off though, as Renmazou started nailing them with his own guns.

Weltall rushed forward then, and Brigandier came in from the side. In seconds, there wasn't anything left but five more powerless Evangelion units crumpled to the ground.

The last six though, were all from the carrier, and had formed up to protect it. Shinji opened a channel. "The use of Evangelion type units is strictly forbidden by the United Nations Security Council except under special sanction, which you do not have. Eject your entry plugs and surrender."

In response, they opened fire. "Well, I had to try," Shinji muttered. He opened a link to the others. "Okay. Billy, see what you can do to disable that carrier, but try not to hit us if you can avoid it. Bart, we've got some more Evas to crunch."

"I'll try."

"Yes sir, Lieutenant sir!"

Shinji mumbled something about hotheads and insubordination as they charged forward. Shinji slammed his metal foot between the legs of the Evangelion he was directly in front of, lifting it from the ground with the sheer force. Metal hand flat as a board, he drove it straight through the cable.

Toji shot out both whips and wrapped them around the closest unit, and used them to catapult the unit over his head and behind him, the cord ripping out in the process.

Kensuke looped around behind while the other units were kept busy, but he still had to deal with turret fire from the carrier. He leveled his arm out as he passed, and let loose, ripping the cannon to shreds as he passed.

Not pausing after he'd dealt with the slumped unit in front of him, Weltall ducked under the fire of the units on either side of him, and launched a sweep kick, hand darting out to pull out the cable as it fell. The one behind adjusted it's rate of fire, but Weltall rolled out of the way and came up with a kick to the side to stun to pilot, and removed his cord as well.

Brigandier knew he was in trouble when a couple of slugs buried themselves in his back, but he started moving quickly. It'd take more than that to even begin to think about bringing the gear down, but he still didn't appreciate taking the hits. _I'm just glad that I don't feel the pain like they do._ As he went, he spun around a little, and snaked out one whip, snaring and snapping one of their weapons. The one without a gun drew its knife, and Toji cursed.

Kensuke took out some more turrets on his way to the rear. He figured that he might not be able to completely disable the ship without unnecessary casualties, but he could probably slow it down, if not stop it from moving by taking out the engines. He'd just have to be careful about it. Suddenly, one of the other units came bounding over the carrier, shooting at him. Renmazou was light on its feet though, and got out of the firing path quickly. Mentally switching one of the barrels over to HE ammo, Kensuke fired a single, well-placed shot, eliminating the umbilical cord. Kensuke frowned at the waste of one of the six HE rounds he carried, but mentally shrugged. He'd been hoping to use save it for the engines, as he'd been planning this since he'd seen it, but it was necessary.

Toji mentally ordered Brigandier to duck, and then charged. He blocked the knife thrust by bringing Brigandier's forearm up under the Evangelion's, and punched the unit in the face. He scrambled out of the way of the other unit, which had opened up again. One whip snapped out and caught its leg and sent it on it's back. He paused to rip the cable out of the knifed one's back, and turned to see Weltall ripping the plug out of the other's back. Brigandier gave a thumbs up, and Weltall crossed its arms reprovingly.

Renmazou set the timers on the remaining HE rounds and hoped their shells would hold against the heat of the engine. He let loose and ran. He didn't get three steps.

---

Citan groaned. "What happened out there, Kensuke? Weltall and Brigandier suffered only minor damage on the raid, but Renmazou needs the majority of its armor replaced, it's so burnt. I can only assume this means you were the one who caused the core explosion of the carrier."

The three were sitting in debriefing. "Well, Shinji said to try and disable the thing…"

Citan stared at him in disbelief. "And this was what prompted you to fire high explosives into what was essentially a nuclear reactor!"

Rico, next to Citan, started laughing. Citan glared at him, but otherwise ignored the laughing giant. He looked back at Kensuke, silently requesting more information. Kensuke sighed. "Well, I was supposed to disable it, right? I thought I had the timers set well enough to get out, and plus, I didn't think that the engines going up would cause that kind of chain reaction. I thought that maybe the back end would go up and it would crash down."

Citan sighed. "I suppose I can't fault your intentions, but this is going to be a media disaster. The explosion was seen for miles. There's no way a news crew won't get a hold of it and speculate."

"Are we admitting to involvement, sir?" Shinji asked.

Citan shook his head. "No. We won't say anything. We won't admit to this, but we won't deny it either. Besides, Jet Alone as a whole wasn't responsible, and they'll never admit Yggdrasil exists. Well, at least not yet. Eventually it'll probably come out anyways, but that's later."

"Yes, sir."

"Dismissed."

Rico was still laughing as the boy exited. He clapped Kensuke on the back. "Good on you kid. Haven't seen Citan that flustered in years." And then he walked off laughing.

Kensuke watched him for a moment, then turned to his friends. "Rico's proud of me. Why do I suddenly feel like I should break down and cry?"

---

_Okay. Be a man. Be a man. Be a… Oh the hell with it. Just be sure you don't pee your pants._

Shinji knocked on Mana's door. This was it. The moment of truth. He waited.

Mana answered the door wearing only a towel. One nosebleed later, Shinji fell forward, collapsing onto her.

"KYAAA!"

One slap later, Shinji was turned around and face planted into the opposite wall. There was the sound of the door slamming.

---

Shinji shook his head, still waiting a bit. _That's as unlikely as it is unpleasant._

Mana answered the door wearing only a towel. One nosebleed later, Shinji fell forward, collapsing onto her. Without warning, he was pulled up and into a kiss and dragged into the room.

He woke up the next morning staring at yet another unfamiliar ceiling. Mana stirred next to him. "Shinji, I'm pregnant…"

---

Shinji just shuddered, and tried knocking again.

Rico answered the door wearing only a towel.

---

Shinji just twitched lightly, not letting that one go anywhere.

The door opened and for a moment Shinji couldn't see anything other than the fist flying towards his face.

When he was conscious again, Asuka was in the process of beating him.

Strangely, she was wearing only a towel as well. As soon as he noticed, so did she.

"PERVERT!"

The beatings were many and bloody until he lost consciousness yet again.

---

Shinji shook his head, clearing his thoughts, and tried the door a third time.

Mana opened the door looking like she had just come from the shower, but thankfully, for Shinji's sake, was fully dressed. She smiled.

"Shinji… Hi. What's up? Sorry I didn't hear you, I was in the shower."

_Well, that was weird. Never mind. Okay, you planned this out. Just follow the plan._

"Well, actually I was wondering if you liked Italian food."

"ShinjiKim!"

The nanomachine colony known as Emeralda slammed into Shinji's side with her usual exuberance, sending him down the corridor. Mana hurried out in concern, only to find the green haired girl sitting on Shinji's back. "Emeralda like Italy food!"

Mana giggled. "Great! Why don't we all go together then!"

There was a mumbled response from Shinji. Emeralda grinned. "Yay! Italy food!"

---

The Yggdrasil had had to come in carefully to avoid it, but come in they did. It was a mastery of architecture, walls perfectly clear under the water's surface.

The restaurant, called Storia (History), moved through the water over historic Rome, over the top of many of the monuments, sometimes only feet from them. It made for a truly breath taking and romantic atmosphere, Emeralda watching the dolphins weave through the coliseum's arches at play.

Shinji and Mana were similarly entranced, and the feeling was comfortable. The comfortable feeling lasted, despite Emeralda's attachment to his arm, until they reached Mana's door aboard the Yggdrasil.

"Goodnight Shinji."

He smiled lightly. "Goodnight Mana…"

Their heads tilted slightly, and moved closer, but Shinji was suddenly feeling uncomfortable, something inside shifting nervously, saying it was wrong. Trying to get over it, Shinji plunged forward.

"NOOO!"

With that exclamation, Emeralda shifted her arm into a mallet, and struck Mana lightly across the face, sending her backwards through the open door into her room. Shinji gaped in shock.

Well, until Emeralda grabbed his ear and began dragging him away. This was the first time Shinji had ever seen her angry, and it scared him more than slightly. She dragged him back to her room, and shoved him down on the couch. Shinji found the strength to speak.

"What was _that_ all about?"

She turned to face him, tears in her eyes. He tried to get up, but she glared. "Sit. Stay."

She hurried into her second room. Shinji sat. Shinji stayed. Emeralda came out with a photograph, and she handed it wordlessly to Shinji.

It was a photograph… of himself and… Asuka? They were both older looking and wearing lab coats and standing in front of a glass pillar with what looked to be a young Emeralda floating inside. Shinji looked up at her, not quite able to speak. _What… is this? I've never worn a lab coat… and Asuka and I aren't that old…_

Emeralda, on the other hand had started talking quietly. "Dr. Citan… say that you not remember yet… not remember FeiKim, or Kim-papa."

_What? I don't remember?_

"Why don't I remember these people Emeralda? Who are they to me?"

Emeralda sniffled. "Kim-papa _made_ Emeralda. With Elly-mama." She gestured to the photo. "Kim-papa t-t-trans… have many lives. Kim-papa was FeiKim. _Is_ ShinjiKim. Not remember past lives at first… but then remember."

_T-That's impossible… Reincarnation? But… I don't think Emeralda would lie to me either…_

"And Kim… Fei… _Shinji_…" She glared at him on this last one. "All love Elly-mama. Not ManaMaria. Elly-mama."

Shinji almost shouted at her. He probably would have if she hadn't looked so close to tears. "But…"

_That's… It's just insane!_ _I love Mana! Not this 'Elly'. _Shinji was once more assaulted by this 'Elly's likeness to Asuka. _Don't I?_

Emeralda did start crying then, and he opened his arms. Emeralda rushed forward and buried herself in them, and he held her, crooning softly until she was asleep.

It was not until he closed her door lightly, a soft, loving, smile on his face, that he realized he had unconsciously accepted his role as her father.

_That reincarnation stuff is just a load of crap… isn't it?_

---

Mana grunted as the recoil from her Berretta pushed back on her hand a little. Her aim flew wide off the mark. She grumbled a bit. Kensuke worried a bit. "What's wrong Mana? Your aim is really off today."

Mana sighed and put the gun down. "It's nothing. I shouldn't let it get to me."

Kensuke's eyes widened. "Did Shinji really mess up _that_ badly last night?"

Mana flopped down in a chair next to him. "No, _Shinji_ didn't do anything. Emeralda…"

Kensuke winced. "Gave him another flying tackle, did she? Man, those things are brutal. I'd hate to see what she did to someone she _didn't_ like."

Mana smiled faintly. "Well, she did that, but it wasn't a real problem. She horned in on our date, and even that wasn't a big problem. But…"

Kensuke arched an eyebrow. "She went on the date with you? You _didn't_ have a problem with it?"

Mana shook her head. "No, she was… I don't know. It just wasn't a problem until we were back here, and well, we almost…"

Kensuke's eyes went wide. "WHAT!"

Mana blinked. "We almost kissed. What did you think… never mind. But then Emeralda screams out 'NO!' and the next thing I know, her mallet's in my face and she's dragging Shinji off."

Kensuke calmed down. "Well, that… sucks."

She nodded. "Yeah, and to top it off, I think Shinji's been avoiding me today."

Kensuke smiled at her reassuringly. "I'm sure he's just embarrassed about what happened. He'll get over it. Well, either that or you'll have to make the first move. But I don't think it'll stay like this long." She nodded, and Kensuke rose, offering his hand to help her stand as well. "Now. Let's get back to it so that Rico doesn't kill me for slacking off on your training."

Mana nodded and picked up her gun, moving back to the target platform. Kensuke moved up behind her, showing her how to hold and aim properly again. Mana blushed a little at the closeness, but shook it off, and soon the sharp bang of gunfire filled the hall again.

---

Neverwhere: Wow. In all the rush of Thanksgiving, I almost forgot to post this thing today. Lucky I checked to make sure. Okay, another chapter up, and only two more chapters left of the already written stuff. So be sure to grab Classic's e-mail and pester him unforgivingly until he writes another chapter.

But otherwise, you may recognise theopeningscene as Shinji's side of the news report in chapter 'Live Broadcast'

See you in two weeks, unless ClassicCowboy gets off his butt and writes another chapter


	11. A Second Try

Chapter 10 – A Second Try

Citan sighed. "We seem to be having these conversations often, don't we?"

Shinji nodded, unable to come up with a real response. Citan continued. "Well, transmigrancy is real enough, Shinji. I remember quite a bit from many lifetimes." Shinji frowned. He'd hoped that maybe Emeralda was simply wrong. Citan sighed and continued. "I'd hoped we'd be having this conversation _after_ you remembered more. I'm sure you're aware now of just exactly why Emeralda refers to you the way she does?"

Shinji nodded. "Yeah, and I've even pieced together her reasons for the other names from the dreams I've been having. But…"

Citan nodded. "Well, as you're no doubt also aware, or at least just now putting together, you were selected for this organization because your gear, Weltall, is something you've piloted before. As have the others piloted theirs. Well, except Kaworu, but… he's got good enough synchronization with Heimdal, and is trustworthy. And that's all that matters, really."

"But… I guess I should be asking _why_ all this is happening."

Citan stared into space for a moment. "Don't talk to the others about any of this just yet. It would only confuse them." Shinji nodded. "I suppose it started a very long time ago. Back before the cracking of the world, back when the land was mostly one piece, one continent. Well, much before even that, really, but it will do for a place to begin.

"Very well, as Fei, you came into contact with what's called the Zohar Modifier, an engine that gained infinite and unlimited power by tapping into another universe. You found that trapped within it was something from that place that called itself the 'Wave Existence'. The Modifier, and its twelve emulators, called the 'Anima Relics' were the power sources for a interplanetary weapon of an ancient civilization."

"The gears?"

Citan blinked, and then chuckled. "No. Well, the Modifier and its emulators _do_ power the gears actually, but the weapon was something different. It was called Deus. Now, the Modifier and the Relics were its power source. What do you suppose its body was?"

"Some sort of super gear?"

Citan shook his head. "A good guess all things considered, but still wrong. Humans. Humans were what were to make up the body of the weapon. Specifically, reprocessed bodies called 'Wels'. Don't ask me about the origin of the name, I'm not certain myself. But in order to form the body all of the Wels would have to become one. Sound familiar?"

Shinji was shocked. "Instrumentality?"

Citan nodded. "Yes. Gendo's been led to believe that… well, that instrumentality will bring all of the souls, even dead ones, together in perfection. Unfortunately, it either does that and he's been misled as to how, or it doesn't exist. All he's doing is paving the way for Deus."

Shinji asked another question. "What happened then back when Fei… back when I was Fei?"

Citan reformulated his thoughts for the moment. "The incarnation before Fei somehow split into two pieces after his contact with the Zohar modifier. The man, Lacan died, and later became Fei, and the soul became the entity known as Grahf. Grahf had an abiding hatred for life, and sought to destroy it all, by creating, then destroying Deus, then destroying himself. I'm not actually too sure about what he'd had planned after Deus's destruction. But after he fused with Fei's father, Fei helped him see the light, and he merged with the modifier to, well, it's a long story. But, in the end, he was gone. Or so we thought.

"Somehow, coming into contact with the Modifier recreated him, but he was affected in an unforeseen way. Imperfect as he was beforehand, he came away still a spirit, but engulfed in insanity. He believes that because he is who he is, he will be forever denied happiness, and therefore, that no one else should be happy either. But he doesn't believe that he can achieve that goal. So he'll settle for killing them all."

Shinji blinked. "But isn't that…?"

Citan nodded. "He's come full circle."

Shinji looked over at Citan, slightly concerned. "Just how do you know all this?"

Citan sighed. "You'd know if you had your memories. World War 2 was worse than any other conflict I've seen. We lost over half of our forces before they recovered their memories. I decided I wouldn't let it happen again. Which is why I made sure that I could make all decisions for Yggdrasil when I demoted myself."

"Sir, is my father…?"

Citan nodded. "We have hard evidence of Gendo working with Grahf. I can't see any other reason for the selection of the Eva pilots, and Gendo's plans. It explains too much to be false."

"What about the other pilots? I know about Asuka, but…"

Citan nodded. "I'm not sure about Miss Ayanami. She's the one that bugs me. When I look at a picture of her, I can almost feel the name on the tip of my tongue, and other times I think I only want to see something there that isn't. But, I've got two agents of my own in NERV, watching over them." He turned to look at Shinji, a slight smile on his face. "Those agents won't break cover easily, but don't worry, they're being adequately watched over."

Shinji arched a brow. "How'd you get them past my father?"

Citan smirked. "I didn't have to. They were already in, and then they came to me."

Shinji nodded. "Other transmigrants."

Citan grinned. "And the best part is, Gendo and Grahf don't realize who they are. There's one other person in there who does know, but that one's a bit of a wild card. Probably won't do anything about it without good reason. It's a blessing in disguise, but only you, the contact, and Elly, the anti-type, are always born looking exactly the same. Rico and I got lucky. Well, if you can call Rico lucky."

"What happened to him?"

Citan shook his head. "That's something Rico can tell you, and only if he wants to." Citan smiled. "But, that's a bit depressing. Look. Just think on this, and let the memories come as they will, okay?"

Shinji nodded. "Thanks, Doc."

---

He looked around cautiously. He was in a forest, he could tell that much, and he didn't like the looks of some of the animals around him. With a small shrug, he jumped up onto a ledge, and from there wandered onto a large log. There was a slight shuffle behind him, and he froze, not wanting to provoke the animal into attacking. Then, there was a woman's voice behind him.

"Ranahad!"

He turned slowly, eyes widening a bit at the sight of the beautiful redhead behind him. Of course, his eyes widening had less to do with her beauty, and more to do with the gun she was pointing at him.

She spoke again. "Katenayu tada bintudah akba! Dhan narata! Rana kotay!"

She obviously saw his confusion; for she shook her head a little then, and continued in a language he could understand. "Throw down your weapon! Make one wrong move and I'll shoot!"

He just stood there, examining her in an oddly detached fashion. She continued, somewhat flustered. "Errh… Turn around!"

She tightened her grip on the gun when he _still_ didn't respond. "I said… turn around!"

He did so slowly, still somewhat numb and detached. She approached from behind. He spoke for the first time. "Are you shaking?"

She growled lightly. "Be quiet… You don't _seem_ to be one of the Kislev soldiers who are after me."

He turned around quite suddenly, and she took a half step back, straightening her gun arm again. "Don't move! I have orders to kill all sureface dwellers, -Lambs-, I come in contact with… It's part of my mission. It's nothing personal. I have a question for you… How do I get out of this forest?"

He was suddenly slightly amused. "Are you… lost?"

She became a bit flustered, and snapped back. "Just answer my question! How do I get out of here?"

"Sorry, but I'm looking for the way out of here too."

"Oh…" As she said this, she slowly lowered her gun, going into thought.

With a sudden feeling of self-loathing, he took a step towards her. "How long are you just going to stand there like that? If you're going to shoot me, then hurry up and do it!"

She looked at him a little warily. "What an odd thing to say. Don't you understand the situation you are in?"

His self-loathing collapsed into depression then, and he looked down sadly. "I don't care about my situation… I'm just a guy whose life is worthless… There's no point in me living anyway!"

With a decision seeming made, he looked up and started walking towards her. The woman panicked. "Don't come any closer!" He stopped moving when she fired a shot off.

He glanced over his shoulder at where the bullet went. "What are you aiming at? Here!" He pushed his hands up against his chest. "Shoot me here! C'mon…"

The woman looked aghast. "Are you mocking me? You're weird!" She started backing up, a little faster as she went. "Something's very wrong with you! You should at least resist a little bit!"

Then, a forest imp dropped out of the treetop behind her. "What's this? Who are you?"

The imp didn't respond with words. Instead it unleashed a punch that knocked her off her feet and sent her slumping into unconsciousness. Something inside him ignited then, and he sprang forward at the imp.

"Stop! Keep your hands off Elly!"

Shinji woke then, and lay for a bit pondering the dream. "Huh. A guy not caring what happens to him, and a beautiful girl trying to kill him. Where have I heard that one before?" He sat up then to get ready for the day. _Well, at least I can take comfort in the fact that these aren't exactly new issues. I wonder what Freud would say about all this? Probably something about mom, and then I'd pop him one._

---

_Summer_, Shinji decided, _is probably the best time of year._

Shinji laid the blanket down on the deck of the Yggdrasil, and Mana placed the picnic basket on it, and began laying out the food. Shinji smiled, she smiled back, and no words were spoken for a bit as they ate. Eventually, they were just nibbling, and Mana posed a question, just for small talk. "So, what do you think of that history project, Shinji?"

Shinji shrugged as he lay down on the blanket to make himself a little more comfortable. "Oh, I don't know. It _seems_ pretty difficult, but I'm betting it's a lot easier than it looks."

She smiled and leaned back a bit. "Yeah. Still… I'm not quite sure _how_ we're supposed to do research that far back, you know?"

Shinji nodded. "Yeah, ten thousand years ago _is_ a little extreme, I'd imagine. But still, an assignment's an assignment." He started chuckling for no apparent reason then.

Mana smiled. "What's so funny?"

Shinji smiled. "Oh nothing much. Just thinking about how Asuka would take this assignment. She'd pretend to be all gung-ho about it, claiming it easy. But I don't think even little miss college girl would find it easy."

Mana's smile faltered a bit. "I… see…" She brightened a bit. "So, what have you been doing up until now? What happened after I left?"

Shinji thought for a moment. "Well… let's see. Well, Toji and Hikari got together. You remember her right? Um, well, Kensuke started bringing gun mags to class to drool over, that got him in trouble, We thought Toji was dead for a bit there, as I'm pretty sure you heard. Hmmm… Asuka kissed me…"

Mana's eyes grew instantaneously to the size of dinner plates. "What!"

Shinji shrugged, not quite realizing that he was treading in dangerous waters. "Well, she pinched my nose while she did it. I thought that was more than a little rude. But that's Asuka for you."

Mana twitched slightly, but Shinji didn't catch on. "Well, um, uh… What do you think about the changes that are happening to Kensuke and Toji?"

Shinji smiled, not really noticing. "Well, I'm kinda relieved by it really. Toji's still incredibly reckless, but he's more dependable now than he used to be. A little more mature, too." Mana arched an eyebrow, and Shinji sighed. "Hey, I did say _a little_ didn't I? Kensuke's gotten better too. He's gun crazy now, not that he was much different before, but when he calms down a bit he's a great guy to bounce problems off of. Heh. Asuka still would have strangled Kensuke for that stunt he pulled with that carrier though. Hell, she'd have strangled the three of us just for being ourselves out there."

Mana was a little desperate to change the subject now. "That's interesting. What are you doing for fun these days? You still play you Cello?"

Shinji shook his head. "No, I left that behind in the apartment. I paint these days."

Mana's expression flowed back into a small smile of relief. "Really? Painting?"

Shinji nodded. "Yeah, but I'm not very good at it."

Mana grinned. "Oh, I'm sure you're great at it. Show me something."

Shinji grimaced. "You sure? I'm really not all that good at all."

"Nonsense. You just don't have any confidence. I'm sure they're great.

"Okay…"

She smiled at him. "Great!"

They packed their things and returned to the lower decks, making their way slowly towards Shinji's room. Mana was smiling up until Shinji opened the door to his studio and she looked in. Her face paled a bit, and she stuttered. "W-well, they're, um… very… nice." Shinji stared at her blankly for a moment, attempting to puzzle it out. Mana rushed on. "Well, it's been fun Shinji, but I just remembered that I have target practice today. See you!" Then she bolted out.

Shinji looked around a bit, then walked out himself. He was well aware she didn't have target practice until mid afternoon the next day. "Well, I knew they were bad, but I didn't think they were enough to scare her away…"

---

"Doctor?"

Citan looked up from his desk, and the never-ending paperwork that was dumped on it. He smiled. This was a more than welcome distraction.

"What can I do for you Kaworu?"

The seemingly young man smiled a bit. "I was wondering if you could answer a question for me, Doctor. It's been on my mind for quite some time, but I haven't had the opportunity to ask of late."

Citan smiled some more. "Certainly Kaworu. I'll do my best to explain what ever you may need."

Kaworu smiled as well. "As you are aware, Doctor, I am but recently returned here. When I left, all those years ago, only the contact and the anti-type were capable of transmigrancy. What came about to change this? It would seem that all who stood beside the contact in that generation, the animus, and a few others, are now capable of this feat."

Citan nodded. "Yes, well, there's a bit of a story behind that."

Kaworu smiled. "I always enjoy learning new things."

Citan nodded. "It's easier to tell you about what happened after you left than it would be to explain the concept outright."

Kaworu nodded.

"Well, as you know, when the Zohar and its emulators, the Anima Relics, were absorbed by Deus, every gear on the planet stopped working. Direct contact with the original Zohar modifier itself made it so that Xenogears was the only gear capable of operating. Even more interesting was that without the Anima Relics supporting them, the Omnigears dis-aligned, reverting back into their basic stages. Even the mighty Xenogears lost too much power to not revert. But I digress. You wanted to know how all became capable of recovering transmigrant memories…"

---

Neverwhere: Oops. Too much going on yesterday. I completely forgot to post this. Oh well. See you in two weeks, and ClassicCowboy only has four to produce more than vauge 'I'll work on it' statements before we all go ballistic. Out.


	12. Homecoming

Chapter 11 - Homecoming

A large group of travelers walked into the cave, their equipment being lugged by a white behemoth. What they found in the cave was what they'd expected. The Zohar Modifier. But now, instead of shining and floating in all it's power and glory, it lay still, dank, and dormant. Citan Uzuki looked around a little. "Well, it seems we're a bit late."

The party of travelers looked around a bit. It was quite the group. Citan led the party, followed by Bartholomew Fatima, Billy Lee Black, Rico Banderas, Elhaym Van Houten, Maria Balthasar, Sigurd, Emeralda, Margie the Great Mother of Nisan, and, most surprisingly, Kahran Ramsus. Yui and Midori Uzuki were present as well, fixing lunch for the group.

The white gear opened, and Fei Fong Wong jumped out, landing in a crouch. "Well, what'd you expect, Doc? This thing just fell out of the atmosphere with the relics. You expected it to be shiny and new?"

Citan frowned. "Well, no. Certainly not, but I didn't think it would be broken so easily, either."

Bart groaned. "So you mean we came all the way out here for nothing?"

Citan smiled. "No, not nothing, young one. I think we shall do as we had originally planned and bring it down to the Yggdrasil. I don't think Taura and Balthasar would want to hike up here."

Elly smiled and shook her head. "I think they would if they had to Citan. I agree that we shouldn't make them at their age, but I think their enthusiasm would bring them up here if necessary."

Citan smiled. "You are correct Elly, as usual. Billy, Ramsus. Come help us with these straps. Fei, man the Xenogears. Let's try to get it onto the flat as carefully as possible."

"Emeralda… help?"

Citan shook his head. "No, that's okay, my dear. Why don't you and the other young ladies start with lunch? It's a bit old fashioned, but I think the boys and I have this."

They nodded, and went to work. Or at least they tried to. A sudden flash came from the Zohar Modifier, and engulfed the party. Fei looked around and grimaced at their location. A voice floated down from above. "Greetings once more Contact. Greetings to your companions as well."

Fei frowned. "I thought you were supposed to be freed after Deus's destruction."

There was humor tinged in the voice as it spoke. "I am. But I have stayed, for a time, to thank you for my freedom. I knew you would find the artifact. You did not disappoint."

Fei smiled. "You are welcome."

There was a warm comforting feeling conveyed by the voice this time. "I also came to bestow a gift. You who are here, I bind. You are bound now, together through eternity, transmigrant to the end. Use your years well."

Citan grinned, and hugged his wife. The wave existence spoke on. "In return, I ask only one thing."

Fei looked about, somewhat concerned. "And what's that?"

"That you leave this place, and leave the modifier where it sits now, closing the cave with the power of the Xenogears, so that it may never be opened again."

Bart blinked. "But… why? We were going to try to restore it, so that the gears would function again…"

Citan glared at Bart, and continued hastily. "We were going to try to figure it out so that it would work without your presence, or that of another of your kind."

The wave existence spoke again after a pause, and was soft but firm in it's speech. "Doctor. I am sure that _you_ and these others have only the highest-minded ideals for what will be done. But understand that others will not be that way. What would they do with the secrets you could unlock from the artifact? That is why I ask this of you, for certainly the gift of transmigrancy is nothing compared to my freedom."

Citan sighed, but nodded. "Your words make sense. And you are correct, others would want to do harm to others with what we discovered, even if all we discovered was how to make the gears functional again."

Bart kicked at the non-existent ground. "Yeah, I understand, I was just hoping to pilot Andivari, or even my Brigandier again."

The Wave Existence's voice was again humor filled. "With your transmigrancy, you may yet. The engine will recharge again on its own – eventually." Bart cheered. "But it will be many of your millennia before this happens." Bart sighed and the others snickered at him. "Good bye, all of you. Again, you have my thanks."

---

Citan sighed. "So, we did what was asked of us. Fei sealed the cave with Xenogears, and we never even went near it again."

Kaworu smiled. "I would guess that means you have no idea where it is now.

Citan grinned. "Are you kidding? That was before the continents split up. We have absolutely no idea where it is. All we know is that it's become active again. If we could find the Anima Relics we could align the gears here again, but those we never found at all."

"Do you think they're still in existence?"

Citan nodded. "From what I could tell, they were made just like the original modifier, so they should have survived impact at least. But who knows what's happened to them."

Kaworu nodded, and Citan leaned back in his chair. "Well, let me continue. After all of this, we enjoyed many good years together. But eventually, we sealed the gears in the Yggdrasil and Yggdrasil in the Kislev, and buried them. Emeralda agreed to be sealed with here, so that she could wake up when the gears did and let us know about it."

Kaworu nodded thoughtfully. "So she woke up…"

Citan nodded. "Just before my… accident, I'd imagine."

Kaworu nodded. "So, has everyone been located?"

Citan shrugged. "Almost all of them. Some are confirmed dead, others simply unfound." He looked up at Kaworu suddenly. "And I'd watch my back if I were you."

Kaworu arched a brow. "Oh?"

Citan nodded. "Miang."

Kaworu started. "But… isn't she…?"

Citan sighed. "We thought so, but apparently she wasn't destroyed with Deus, simply separated from Elly. When Deus was destroyed, Miang was not. The master Urobolus ring was…"

Kaworu finished for him. "Rendering her alive as she was, but masterless…"

Citan smiled. "Yes, and she doesn't like you for some reason. Perhaps it's because-"

"Yes, I'm fully aware of the reasons she would have for hating me. But… such is life. Thank you Doctor. You have given me much to think on."

---

Three sharp, staccato blasts rang out, one after the other, in metered precision.

Mana Kirishima stood in the firing range, wearing her eye and ear protection, blasting away at her target, and gritting her teeth. At the touch of a hand on her shoulder, she spun around, berretta in hand. The blonde boy dove to the floor, covering his head with his arms.

"Don't shoot!"

Mana lowered the gun. This action caused the young man, Kensuke she now realized, to scramble behind a partition. She put the gun completely down on the bench next to her. "Sorry for scaring you Kensuke."

He looked up over the partition a little wild-eyed, but relaxed a little when he noted her hands no longer held her berretta. He stood and brushed off his knees. "Well, at least my reflexes are okay, but for a second I almost went for my gun, only to panic when I realized I didn't have any of them on me." Mana smiled a little at this, and her target paper reached the front then. Kensuke's eyes widened at the number of holes. "That anyone I know?"

She sighed. "No, just blowing off some steam."

Kensuke's rolled his eyes. "More like blowing someone's head off. Seriously Mana, what's got you so ticked off?"

Mana paused, and Kensuke put on his best comforting, 'I'm your best friend you can tell me anything smile'. She broke. "Kensuke… am… am I… no. That's not the right question to ask. Is Shinji obsessive?"

Kensuke shook his head – a little too quickly for Mana's liking. "Shinji? Obsessed with Asuka? Nope. Not at all. Not possible."

She groaned. "Kensuke, I didn't even say her name, or that it was even a person."

Kensuke gulped. He just knew he was going to get blamed for this somehow. "Well, um… maybe. Just a little." _Just because they've been lovers for thousands of years doesn't mean a thing._

Mana didn't seem to appreciate this answer either. "Kensuke? Have you seen his art studio?"

_Crap._ Kensuke knew when he was defeated, and this was definitely one of those times. But still, he owed it to Shinji to try. "Well, what do a few paintings mean? I mean, I'm pretty sure he'll get around to you. Maybe it's just a phase. I mean, a lot of great artists go through periods where they do mostly the same thing. Maybe this is his Asuka phase…" She just looked at him for a bit. Kensuke got nervous, and he knew he had to change the subject – fast. "Well, um… instead of just standing here using still targets, let's go down to the VR lab and see if we can get some real training in. What do you say?"

Mana nodded slowly. _That does sound like a good way to take my mind off of this…_

Kensuke smiled at her, more than a little relieved, and they left.

---

The Seibzehn was a unique gear. Instead of reacting to thought commands, it reacted to voice commands. There was no joystick; in fact, there were no controls at all. The unit hardly needed Mana, except that she was the only person Seibzehn would respond to. There was no cockpit either. She stood on top of Seibzehn's head to give him orders. This was only possible because Seibzehn moved so slowly.

The only thing of any note on top of his head was the communications array. Which was active. Rico was on the monitor.

"Okay. This is what we know. At oh-nine-hundred hours, Fei's team went on a battlefield intercept with orders to halt the conflict, regardless of who or what was involved. At oh-nine-thirty hours, we lost contact with the intercept group, and have remained in the dark for more than two hours now. Be on your guard at all times, and remember that first priority is the recovery of the intercept group – both pilots and gears. Understood!"

"Yes sir."

"Yup!"

"Of course."

With that, the gears crested the final ridge, and looked out below them. The only thing available to see was charred earth and smoking metal wrecks. There was also the remains of what appeared to be a (formerly) underground bunker. The gears landed, and Rico signaled for the pilots to exit the gears. Rico swore as he surveyed the scene. "Leave the gears here for now. Spilt up and search for survivors. Be careful. Whatever did this… h… it might still be here."

They nodded and split up. Mana drew her berretta and stalked forward quietly, as Kensuke had taught her. _Shinji…_

After many minutes of searching, Mana froze suddenly. There were no overt signs, but something was very wrong, and she knew it. As she inched forward, she heard a soft thud over to her right in the distance.

She moved carefully, but quickly through the wreckage, pausing only to stare at the imprint in the remains of one evangelion. The shape was odd. It was a strange ovalish-square mark with several protrusions sticking out of it. _Almost like a human hand… But that's impossible. _No one_ is that strong._

Mana shrugged it off. The only possible answer was that some debris had hit it funny. She continued on, slowly working her way down into where the bunker was. Then, the thud came again, this time much closer, this time punctuated with a whimper of pain. _It's close!_

As she inched her way closer to where she had heard the sound, she heard a mocking laugh ring out. "And you imbeciles were supposed to be tough? Big bad bullies in their Evas. You punks are nothing without your little toys, and I disposed of _them_ easily enough. Now just think about what I'm going to do to you…"

Mana kept inching, and there was a muffled whine. "Oh no. You misunderstand. I haven't yet _begun_ to inflict punishments on you!"

Mana took a deep breath to calm herself, and then flung herself around the corner, bringing her gun up to catch a man with the barrel aimed directly between his eyes. "Drop him! Now!"

The man being aimed at grinned. He was wearing a black and red formfitting bodysuit, accenting his muscular build. He wasn't bulky by any stretch of the imagination, but the way the suit fit made it absolutely clear that he was an overt threat. His face was very pale, and his long red hair fell loosely in greasy strands down his back. He was holding up one of the enemy soldiers in one hand as he considered both her and her gun. Then he grinned, and tossed the man aside. He hit a piece of the rubble with enough force to knock it over.

If he had been solid enough. Flesh is soft, however, and he was simply impaled. Mana thought she would be sick, but she held firmly. All around the red lunatic's feet people lay prone and bleeding. Their unnatural stillness, and the strange angles their limbs lay in told Mana they were dead.

Mana's hand shook on the gun as he turned fully towards her and leered. He noted it, and formed a grin. "Are you… scared?"

He started towards her, and Mana instinctively backed up. He continued. "You should be you know. I'm just that much stronger. That much faster. That much _better_."

Mana's back hit the wall, effectively trapping her. The man smirked even more and began stalking even closer now. He was ten feet from her when she closed her eyes and screamed.

For an instant time seemed to stand still for Mana, and then there was a crunch from in front of her, and she opened her eyes. There, in front of her, was a gleaming blue fist. _Seibzehn…_

It was indeed the blue behemoth. As she began to relax, there came a sudden shifting noise from where Seibzehn had crushed the man into the ground. Seibzehn seemed to tip forward for a moment, and then slammed into the rubble in front of her, having been completely flipped over by _him_.

The man turned to wards her and grinned that same sadistic grin. "Ouch. That wasn't very nice you know."

Mana screamed again, and her gun flashed forwards, and she began emptying her clip at him. He just kept grinning at her, even as one hit him between the eyes and fell to the ground, wasted. Soon enough, the gun made a click instead of a bang, and he started laughing. "Did you honestly think that would do anything, after what I did to that machine of yours? Did you really believe that - urk"

He staggered backwards then, holding his head in one hand. He had time for one last word. "Damn."

And then, he collapsed, his hair fading to black, the suit disappearing, and his face coloring. Mana dropped the gun on realization. "SHINJI!"

---

"What happened out there?" Citan sat quietly in the Kislev's hospital ward. Kensuke and Toji were a little worse for wear, but otherwise would be fit for duty in a few days.

Toji grimaced. "Bastards. They had a hidden bunker there that wasn't in the intel. At first glance it looked pretty cut and dried, something we could win hands down, but then as we're putting the last one of the assholes down, the ground opens up and we're surrounded by Evas coming out of their launch catapults fully armed."

Kensuke nodded. "It's clear that they were waiting for us. Well, if not us, _somebody_ was supposed to be ambushed there, that's for damn sure. Shinji… The captain rips into them first, but they're all around us, and they just kept firing. We all went down eventually… last thing I remember, sir."

Toji nodded. "It looked by the numbers, but it went straight to hell once we got there."

Citan nodded. "Well, you two are in good condition. Shinji… hasn't woken up yet, but we expect him to soon. You'll be permitted to see him as soon as he does, however."

The two nodded. "Thank you, sir. What happened out there? Rico won't talk about it, but Mana's obviously upset about it…"

Citan grimaced. "Well… I'm not sure I should be the one to tell you Kensuke. If you remember enough, you may realize what happened. After all, it's happened twice now."

And with that, Citan turned and walked out. Toji let his head collapse back on his mattress. "Id…"

Kensuke paled. "Damn…"

---

When Shinji's eyes fluttered open a few hours later, he was looking up at the ceiling of the Kislev hospital room. _I've been here before. I know this ceiling…_

"Shinji…?"

Shinij looked over at the sound of her voice to see Mana at his bedside. He smiled up at her. "Mana…"

He reached his hand out for hers, but she flinched and drew her hands back. "Wha…?"

Mana sighed as Shinji hesitantly pulled back his hand. "Look, Shinji…"

He frowned. "What's wrong Mana?"

She swallowed and composed herself slightly. "Shinji… it's… well… I don't think… I don't think we should see each other anymore."

Shinji's brain, not fully functional after just waking up, took this blow accordingly. "Huh?"

Mana rushed on, trying to get it out. "Well, it's just not working very well, you know? I mean first there was Emeralda, then there was… well, it's not important. But it's not going right."

Shinji's mind was racing a thousand miles a minute attempting to figure out just what had happened. "What did I…?"

Mana cut him off, shaking her head rapidly. "No… It's not you, it's me, I just can't… well, I was thinking that we'd be better off just being friends."

Shinji's mind was still working at its current performance. "Mana…"

Her head drooped. "I need to tell the nurse you're awake now, Shinji."

She walked off, and a moment later when the nurse came to check on him, the full significance of what had just happened hit him. _Great. Just when you think it's okay to feel good about getting up in the morning._

---

May 25, 2018:

Citan sighed as he watched the latest attack on Tokyo-3 on the monitor. _That's it. When the next one comes through, he'll be revealed as a fraud._

He hit a button on his desk, and spoke into the intercom. "All pilots, please report to the briefing room."

---

Three days later, Shinji stood on the deck of the Yggdrasil, Toji and Kensuke behind him, looking out over Tokyo-3 from the bay.

A little over two years since he had left, he was finally going home. And he'd be damned if there wasn't a small smirk on his face.

---

Neverwhere: I cannot even begin to believe how late _this_ is. I took a Friday off of posting in the holidays, and then bam I forget for the end of time. This is shameful. But on the upside, we'll have something else for you by next week. Two if I have to write it myself.

Classic Cowboy: Never fear, I have finally graduated College, and I swear on all that I hold dear ... I shalt update the next chapter (which is my turn) much quicker then it took me to graduate college! ... took me six years so that should give me a good window grin

Neverwhere: Seriously. If he doesn't have anything by Monday, I'll kill him and start writing it myself.


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